LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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By W' 

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CCBailGHT DEPOSm 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 
IN THE 
NATIONAL CAPITAL 




Drawing of the First Unitarian Church in Washington 
Charles Bulfmch, Architect 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 
IN THE 
NATIONAL CAPITAL 
1821-1921 

BY 

JENNIE W. SCUDDER 

ISSUED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE WASHINGTON 
CHAPTER, UNITARIAN LAYMEN'S LEAGUE 




THE BEACON PRESS 
BOSTON MASS. 
1922 



Copyright, 1922, 
BY JENNIE W. SCUDDER 



All Rights Reserved 



PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES 



DEC 16 \m 



•CI.A690613 



WASHINGTON CHAPTER 
UNITARIAN LAYMEN'S LEAGUE 



OFFICERS 



1920-1921 

J. C. Robertson, President 
T. M. Roberts, Vice-President 
George Livingston, Secretary 
J. J. Lightfoot, Treasurer 



1921- 1922 

J. E. Jones, President 

A. M. Holcombe, Vice-President 

Laurence C. Staples, Secretary-Treasurer 

1922- 1923 

A. M. Holcombe, President 
George A. Ricker, Vice-President 
Laurence C. Staples, Treasurer 
Remick S. Ferguson, Secretary 



PREFACE 



Permission to use in this work any part of 
the Historical Sketch of the Unitarian Church 
of Washington, D. C, written in 1909 by me, 
and copyrighted by the Columbia Historical 
Society, District of Columbia, was granted 
May 16, 1921, by Mr. Allen C. Clark, presi- 
dent of the Historical Society. 

In the preparation of the history I have 
been helped, in the matter of arrangement, 
by the criticisms and suggestions of Mr. H. 
Barrett Learned, sometime a member of the 
Department of History of Stanford Univer- 
sity. For this help I am very thankful. 

Mr. William L. Brown of the Library of 
Congress gave me the benefit of thoughtful 
criticism worthy the gratitude I here express. 

I have to thank the Rev. F. C. Southworth, 
President of Meadville Theological School, 
for information concerning several of the early 
ministers of the Unitarian church of Wash- 
ington. 

To Harold H. Scudder, Associate Professor 
[vii] 



PREFACE 

of English in the New Hampshire State Col- 
lege, I am gratefully indebted for revision of 
English and style. 

In the publication of the history I have been 
guided and assisted in the various essentials 
by Mr. John E. Jones, President (1921) of the 
Washington Chapter of the Unitarian Lay- 
men's League. He has spared no pains in 
aiding the author and in helping her to see 
the volume through the press. 

Other indebtedness I have acknowledged in 
the course of narration. 

Jennie W. Scudder. 

Washington, May 11, 1922. 



[viii] 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAC3E 

I The First Church Founded .... 1 

II Prominent Members 10 

III The Struggle for Life 25 

IV Ministers of the First Church ... 36 
V The Shadow of Slavery 49 

VI The Church in the Civil War . *63 

VII Reconstruction Period 72 

VIII All Souls Church 78 

IX Civic and Denominational Activities . 90 

X Heirlooms 105 

XI National Adherents 112 

XII The New All Souls 122 

XIII Ministers of All Souls Church . . . 135 

Appendix 145 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Architect's Drawing of the First Unitarian 

Church Frontispiece 

The First Unitarian Church, 1822 9 

Excerpt from Report of the Reverend Robert Little 27 

The Reverend Rush R. Shippen 43 

The Reverend E. Bradford Leavitt 59 

All Souls Church, 1877 79 

The Reverend Clay MacCauley 91 

Facsimile of Title Page of Mr. Little's Hymn 

Book 107 

Architects' Drawing of All Souls Church and 
Edward Everett Hale Memorial Parish House, 

1922 129 

The Reverend Ulysses G. B. Pierce 139 



A Century of Unitarianism 
in the National Capital 

CHAPTER I 

THE FIRST CHURCH FOUNDED 

On November 11, 1921, the Unitarian 
Church of Washington, D. C, became one 
hundred years old. It was organized on No- 
vember 11, 1821, as the "First Unitarian 
Church," and retained that designation fifty- 
six years. This organization was effected by 
a small congregation, which began to meet in 
1820 in a room over some public baths on C 
Street, between Four and One Half and Sixth 
Streets N. W., to listen to the preaching of 
Robert Little. This congregation consisted 
of some of the most intelligent and cultivated 
families of the young capital. Several had 
been drawn to Unitarianism by the preaching 
of Edward Everett in the hall of the House 
of Representatives ; some were associated with 
the government of the new republic, while 

[i] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



others were English people who had been Uni- 
tarians in their native land and friends, there 
as here, of Dr. Joseph Priestley. 

Mr. Little, himself, was one of these. He 
had experienced the injustice, both social and 
political, which England then inflicted upon 
dissenters. To escape this he had come to 
America and had become, according to some 
accounts, a merchant in Washington and, ac- 
cording to others, a clerk in governmental em- 
ployment. His preaching had attracted some 
notice in England, especially a sermon deliv- 
ered in Birmingham entitled The Decline and 
Fall of Spiritual Babylon, which dealt with 
the unjust treatment of dissenters. 

Knowing these things of him, it was natural 
that the little company who wished to exercise 
their privilege of freedom in religious worship 
should think of him, and thus began the meet- 
ings on C Street. Opposed to any connection 
between church and state, they yet wanted a 
faith that should express the democratic idea 
in religion as the new government expressed 
it in politics. This they found in Unitarian- 
ism. The desire and need for a more positive 
assertion of the new religious idea grew, and a 
meeting was called for July 31, 1820, to con- 
sider the matter. Notice of the calling of the 

[2] 



THE FIRST CHURCH FOUNDED 



meeting, and of its proceedings, was made in 
the local papers, which reported that on mo- 
tion of William Eliot it was 

"RESOLVED, That it is expedient that 
measures be taken for erecting a church upon 
Unitarian principles in the city of Wash- 
ington ; and also that a meeting be held August 
6th, to concert measures for carrying into ef- 
fect the above resolution." 

Several months passed before a working 
plan was developed by which to try to attain 
their common desire. Mr. Little wrote to 
Jared Sparks, then the Unitarian minister in 
Baltimore: "I am going on in much weak- 
ness, fear, and trembling, preaching to our fel- 
low citizens and others, and the numbers of 
respectable hearers increase." Some of the 
congregation thought that Mr. Little ought to 
withdraw from business so as to give more 
time to the church-building project. This he 
did not feel financially able to do, and he 
doubted the wisdom of such action until the 
congregation became larger and more zealous. 
Finally it was decided, as he again wrote to 
Sparks: "to form a Society on Unitarian 
principles and to maintain regular worship an- 
tecedently to the building of a church. Ac- 
cordingly a subscription has been offered of 

[3] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



from ten to twenty dollars each per annum for 
this purpose, and one or two families have with- 
drawn from the Presbyterian Church to join 
us. Last Sunday we had several members of 
Congress and several fresh faces from the 
stated residents of our city." 

Probably because of this subscription, Mr. 
Little was able to give more attention to the 
affair in hand, as he went to New England in 
May, 1821, to solicit money therefor. In this 
instance, a task unpleasant by its very nature 
was made more so by intimation that his com- 
ing on such an errand would be displeasing to 
congregations and embarrassing to ministers. 
Discouraging as the prospect was, he suc- 
ceeded in a measure and was able to write to 
Mr. Sparks in October, 1821: "I now enter- 
tain no doubt of ultimate success, and the 
sister churches of Baltimore and Washington 
may hereafter be mutually useful to each other 
as well as to the Southern States generally. 
We received three hundred dollars more from 
Boston a few weeks since and I believe they 
have a little more in reserve there." 

In Providence, R. I., Mr. Little preached 
three times on one Sunday and was given one 
hundred dollars toward the building fund. 
The letter already quoted expressed his satis- 

[41 



THE FIRST CHURCH FOUNDED 

faction at the increase of numbers in atten- 
dance at the meetings, and the "distinguished 
respectability" of the individuals. It enu- 
merated the difficulties under which he had 
labored in the way of personal matters — his 
change of employment and lack of books — and 
expressed his gratitude at having been able to 
accomplish so much in spite of all. 

On November 11, 1821, the first step was 
taken toward the goal when the congregation 
organized as a church, adopted a constitution 
and made Mr. Little minister. The number 
of members is variously given, the maximum 
being twenty-seven. All accounts include the 
names of John Quincy Adams, John C. Cal- 
houn, William Winston Seaton, Joseph Gales, 
Sr., and Joseph Gales, Jr., William G. Eliot, 
Charles Bulfinch, John F. Webb, C. S. 
Fowler and Judge William Cranch, all now 
well known in denominational, local and na- 
tional history. 

The church records give also the names of 
Moses Poor, D. F. May, N. P. Poor, Noah 
Fletcher, Richard Wallach, Robert Little, 
Seth Hyatt, C. Andrews, S. Robinson, Pishey 
Thompson, Thomas Bates, A. B. Waller, 
Thomas C. Wright, M. Claxton, S. Franklin, 
William Cooper and P. Mauro. 

[5] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

The church was not established without 
some excitement in orthodox circles which 
found expression in magazine and newspaper 
articles. These were answered and the cause 
defended by Jared Sparks. Lately ordained by 
Charming, in Baltimore, whose sermon on the 
occasion of May 5, 1819, had cleared the the- 
ological atmosphere and made plain the schism 
in the Congregational body, Sparks was a fit- 
ting herald of Unitarianism in the South. 
With the enthusiasm of youth but the 
judgment of maturity, he asserted its 
principles with vigor and defended them with 
ability. The magazine, Unitarian Miscel- 
lany, which he edited, supplemented his pulpit. 
In it he often had an explanatory or an en- 
couraging or a complimentary word for the 
struggling Unitarian congregation and its 
minister in the neighboring city. When finan- 
cial help was asked for the new venture, 
Sparks preached a suitable sermon from the 
text, Isaiah xli. 6: "They helped every one 
his brother and every one said to his brother 'Be 
of good cheer,' " with the result of a collec- 
tion of one hundred and fifty-one dollars and 
eighty-one cents. 

After coming to Washington as Chaplain 
of the House of Representatives, in 1821, Mr. 

[6] 



THE FIRST CHURCH FOUNDED 

Sparks, during an illness of Mr. Little, 
preached every other Sunday to the congre- 
gation in the "upper room." His kindness to 
Mr. Little was the beautiful tribute of youth 
to age, for Mr. Little was no longer young. 
It later appeared that Sparks more clearly 
than any one else outside Washington realized 
the need and the possible value to denomin- 
ation and to country of a Unitarian church at 
the seat of government. 

On June 9, 1822, a church building for use 
by the new society was dedicated. On this oc- 
casion, the sermon by Mr. Little ended thus: 
"These walls I trust will bear witness that our 
lives have not been altogether useless to man- 
kind. Some, I hope, may be better and wiser 
for our exertions in the cause of truth. If 
not in an obvious and direct manner, yet in 
some effectual way, may we have served our 
generation, and promoted the knowledge, the 
service and the will of the one true God." Of 
this event Mrs. Seaton wrote to her father, 
J oseph Gales, Sr. : "The Unitarian Church 
has been dedicated with all the solemnity and 
simplicity characterizing the profession of its 
members. Mr. Little's discourse was irresis- 
tibly forcible and pathetic, his impressive man- 
ner adding to its exceeding interest. There 

[7] 



A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM 

were upwards of four hundred persons pres- 
ent." 

The building stood on the corner of Sixth 
and D Streets, then considered a convenient 
and suitable location. It was designed by 
the famous architect, Charles Bulfinch, and 
marked, at the time of its completion, a de- 
cided advance in architectural excellence in 
this city. It served its purpose as a Unitarian 
church for fifty-five years. The original Bul- 
finch drawings of the First Church are in the 
possession of the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology. A picture of the church has 
lately been supplied to that institution. 

An item in the Washington News of Au- 
gust 10, 1850, referred to the Unitarian 
Church, then twenty-eight years old and un- 
dergoing repairs, as follows: 

"They are giving this edifice a new dress. 
The old was full of rents and patches. We 
think there is no better site for a church in the 
city than this; nor indeed is there a prettier 
church. Its architecture is so simple, its di- 
mensions not large and yet we always like to 
see it. So calmly it stands there on its bright 
elevation looking over a great part of the city 
and then surrounded by the old sentinel pop- 
lars — we love it dearly. Part of this love may 

[8] 



I 



THE FIRST CHURCH FOUNDED 



be due to the recollection of our boyhood when 
the Unitarian Church was indeed an important 
edifice, for we had but two or three other places 
of worship in those days, and that bell used to 
tell the service hour to all in the neighborhood, 
being the only bell within a mile or so. The 
stuccoing of the walls and pillars wanted re- 
pair badly and so did the steeple. This is now 
being done by our townsman, Mr. C. Gill. 
The building is very conspicuous and will, 
when restored, be a pleasant and picturesque 
object." 



[9] 



CHAPTER II 



PROMINENT MEMBERS 

The First Church was distinctive in that it 
was from the beginning Unitarian and not an 
orthodox society liberalized. It ranks among 
the earliest churches with this distinction; 
those of Baltimore, Maryland, and Charleston, 
South Carolina, having been founded in 1817, 
while the first Unitarian church in New York 
City was dedicated only six months before 
that of Washington. To Philadelphia belongs 
the honor of having built and dedicated the 
first church in America for Unitarian wor- 
ship. Among the workers toward that end 
was Joseph Gales, Sr., whose name is found 
among the original members of the First 
Church of Washington. 

Mr. Gales had been obliged to leave Eng- 
land because of his liberal political ideas, sac- 
rificing thereby his well established business 
of publisher, bookseller and editor of the Shef- 
field Register in the city of that name. His 
[10] 



PROMINENT MEMBERS 

religious ideas were no less liberal and unpop- 
ular. 

Possessed of a discretion which might have 
averted such a crisis, Mr. Gales became the 
victim of the indiscretion of an employe who 
wrote seditious letters from his publishing 
house. Moreover the attention of the govern- 
ment became fixed upon the establishment be- 
cause of its suspicion that Thomas Paine's 
works were published and sold there. This 
suspicion was not groundless. Fortunately 
for Mr. Gales, the King's Messengers called 
to investigate while he was away from home, 
with no worse result than the suggestion to 
Mrs. Gales, who had received them with great 
tact, that it would be well if her husband were 
to remain away until the times were more set- 
tled. This leniency was avowedly shown be- 
cause of the high opinion in which even his po- 
litical enemies held Mr. Gales. Seeing the 
ruin of his business and probable imprison- 
ment in the near future if he returned to Shef- 
field, he left England for Germany, where he 
awaited the arrival of his family and whence 
they sailed for Philadelphia in 1795. In that 
city he was met by Dr. Priestley, his personal 
friend and fellow exile, and later they worked 

en] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



together in bringing Unitarianism before the 
public. Congress was then in session there 
and, as Mr. Gales had found employment in 
a newspaper office, he was asked to make a re- 
port of a day's proceedings of that body. 
This he was able to do verbatim by means of 
stenography, greatly to the surprise of his 
employer and of members of Congress. This 
event was the beginning of a successful career 
in America. He bought a newspaper in 
Philadelphia, but later disposed of it and 
went, at the solicitation of members from 
North Carolina, to Raleigh in that state. 
There he established the Raleigh Register, be- 
came printer for the state, and trained in 
journalism the two men who were to become 
moulders of public opinion in the capital of 
the new nation — Joseph Gales, Jr., and Wil- 
liam Winston Seaton. 

The elder Gales, in his last years retiring 
from business one of the most honored citizens 
of his state, came to Washington and was in- 
terested in the management of the African 
Colonization Society. He died in Raleigh, 
North Carolina. He was born in Eckington, 
England. 

While his father is counted as a member of 
the First Church of Washington, Joseph 
[12] 



PROMINENT MEMBERS 

Gales, Jr., was more closely identified with 
that organization. He was the worthy son 
of a noble father, whose principles and ex- 
ample he made his own with the result of a 
life equally rich in "true things truly done." 
He came to Washington as assistant to the 
editor and proprietor of the paper which later 
became his own, and began daily reporting of 
Congressional debates, which was a feature 
of the paper for many years. Such was the 
vigor and inspiration which he gave to the pa- 
per that within two years he was a partner in 
its management, and in another year its sole 
editor and owner. 

The cumbrous title of National Intelligencer 
and Washington Advertiser was curtailed, be- 1 
coming the National Intelligencer. From the 
first, Mr. Gales asserted his purpose of main- 
taining and preserving inviolate the independ- 
ence of the paper and the right of following the 
unbiased convictions of his own judgment. 

With him was soon associated his brother- 
in-law, William Winston Seaton, who, no 
more nor less firmly based upon right princi- 
ples than Gales, was perhaps more brilliant in 
word and deed and more of a politician. This 
association was closer than that of most broth- 
ers. They had "no bickerings, no misunder- 
[13] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



standings nor differences of view that a con- 
sultation did not at once reconcile; they knew 
no division of interests ; from a common coffer 
each drew what he chose." 

Mr. Seaton was a Virginian of Scotch de- 
scent. He was educated by tutors, and in the, 
schools of Richmond, especially at the cele- 
brated Ogilvie Academy there. After editor- 
ial experience in several southern towns, he 
had gone to Raleigh to take a place on the 
Register and there began his relation to the 
Gales family when he married Sarah Gales. 
He became a Unitarian, though he always re- 
tained a love of the forms of the Episcopal 
service, and with his wife was a member of the 
First Church in Washington. Mr. Seaton was 
for twelve successive years Mayor of Washing- 
ton. He was the intimate friend of Daniel 
Webster and knew well most of the celebrated 
men of his time. He was not only the friend 
of those in high position, but of the poor and 
unfortunate as well. 

The opinion in which contemporaries held 
Messrs. Gales and Seaton is shown in an ar- 
ticle in the Atlantic Monthly of December, 
1860, shortly before death severed their part- 
nership. It says of the paper which was their 
mouthpiece: "There has in all our times 
[14] 



PROMINENT MEMBERS 

shone no such continual light on public affairs ; 
there has stood no such sure defense of what- 
ever was needful to be upheld; tempering the 
heats of both sides, renationalizing all spirit of 
section; combating our propensity to lawless- 
ness at home and aggression abroad ; spreading 
constantly on each question of the day a mass 
of sound information the venerable editors 
have been all the while a power of safety in 
the land, no matter who were the rulers." 

Of these great citizens of the District of 
Columbia, there remains there today no sug- 
gestion except in the name of "Eckington" 
given to a suburb grown up about the Gales 
estate and in the designation of two school 
buildings and that of two minor streets. 

That the association of these high-minded 
men with the cause of liberal religion in its 
early days in the National Capital may be a 
little better known to local and national Uni- 
tarians, is one reason for its extended mention. 
J oseph Gales, Sr., is represented today by de- 
scendants in All Souls Church. 

As given in the list of original members of 
the First Church, the names of John Quincy 
Adams and John C. Calhoun speak for them- 
selves as to character and social position, both 
at that time officials in the cabinet of Presi- 
[15] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



dent Monroe. Mr. Calhoun is said to have 
remarked, when making his contribution to- 
ward the building of the First Church, that 
"Unitarianism is the true faith and must 
ultimately prevail over the world." 

One of the most illustrious names on the 
register of the First Unitarian Church is that 
of Judge William Cranch. He had come to 
Washington a young lawyer in 1794 before 
the city could furnish homes for all who wanted 
them. Therefore he made Alexandria, then 
a part of the District of Columbia, his dwell- 
ing place for several years. He was fifty- 
two years old when the church was organized. 
He did not come into it through conversion 
but through inheritance. He was simply 
making public profession of the faith which 
had thus far inspired his well ordered life and 
with him antedated Channing and his famous 
pronunciamento. 

Judge Cranch was a relative and had been 
a playmate of John Quincy Adams. To- 
gether they had heard the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence read in Boston by Sheriff William 
Greenleaf, interrupting their boyish play for 
that purpose. To Adams came the brilliant 
career of diplomat, cabinet officer and Presi- 
dent of the United States; to Cranch the se- 
[16] 



PROMINENT MEMBERS 

date practice of the law, culminating in 1805 
in his appointment by President Jefferson as 
Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia. It was an interesting coin- 
cidence in his life that when twenty-six years 
old he should marry the daughter of Sheriff 
Greenleaf, the man whom he had heard read 
the Declaration of Independence, and when 
thirty-six should be made Judge by the author 
of that Declaration. 

Judge Cranch suffers not at all in compar- 
ison with the notable men who were associated 
with him in the new religious enterprise of 
1821. It has been said of him that nature 
must have intended him for a judge, so per- 
fectly had she endowed him for that calling. 
He had great love of order and of clearness; 
he delighted in straightening out puzzling con- 
ditions. His perception in matters of the 
law was keen and certain. He was by nature 
serious. He read the English classics and was 
fond of poetry. He was a hard worker and 
gave ten hours a day for sixty years to the 
requirements of his position. His recreations 
were walking, playing chess and music. He 
delighted in nature and in sculpture and paint- 
ing. It is significant that three of his sons 
were artists and all were men of fine tastes. 
[17] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



His clear mind no doubt helped solve many of 
the problems that continually puzzled the 
First Church, and perhaps sometimes antici- 
pated its proper course. It is known that he 
wrote Dr. Charming of the financial condition 
of the church after Mr. Little's death, and it 
was he who arranged for a fitting funeral ser- 
mon in Washington in memory of the first 
minister. His love of sacred music led him 
to take an active part in the musical service of 
the church for many years. It is related that 
on one occasion when the organist failed to at- 
tend the service, Judge Cranch — then with 
flowing white hair — rose from his pew, went 
into the choir and played all the music. At 
the organization of the American Unitarian 
Association in 1825, Judge Cranch was made 
a Vice-President, and he was one of the board 
of trustees of the first public school in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia. 

William G. Eliot was a merchant and ship- 
owner of New Bedford, Mass., whom the em- 
bargo previous to the war of 1812 forced out 
of business into a government position in 
Washington. Here for thirty-five years he 
was chief examiner in the auditing office of 
the Post Office Department. He resigned 
that office in 1853 and died in Washington the 
[18] 



PROMINENT MEMBERS 

next year. He was a man of culture and re- 
finement and at some sacrifice gave to his 
children the best education attainable. To 
this end, he bought a certificate of scholarship 
in Columbian College for which he paid 
$134.16. This certificate entitled its owner 
to twenty years' school tuition. Columbian 
College has developed into the George Wash- 
ington University, but the change in name is 
not more marked probably than that in its 
schedule of prices. 

Of Mr. Eliot's part in the life of the First 
Church, the records have this to say at the time 
when he thought best to resign the position in 
its management which he had held for many 
years. Just what that position was, is not 
stated. 

"His colleagues desire in his absence to ex- 
press their deepest thankfulness and gratitude 
on their own part and that of the church for 
the untiring interest, the most open-hearted 
liberality which he has always manifested; and 
to express their sincere conviction that the 
prosperity of the church has been greatly in- 
debted to him not only for the wise counsels he 
has given, the energy he has inspired, the 
cheerfulness he has imparted in its darkest 
hours, but more especially for the pure and 
unswerving rectitude of his private life." 

[19] 



A CENTURY OF UNTTAMANISM 

Mr. Eliot is of interest to all Unitarians as 
the father of William G. Eliot, Jr. This son, 
though born in New England, lived in Wash- 
ington from his eleventh to his twenty-first 
year and was one of the youthful members of 
the congregation of the First Church. He 
graduated from Columbian College in 1830, 
and after a year as government employe went 
to the Harvard Divinity School for three years. 
He was ordained as an Evangelist and went 
to St. Louis as a pioneer preacher, there to 
enter upon a career which brought him en- 
during local and national fame. Mr. Eliot, 
during the Civil War, was the organizer and 
active supporter of the Western Sanitary 
Commission, was founder of Washington Uni- 
versity in St. Louis, and deserves more than 
any one else to be called the father of the pub- 
lic school system of Missouri. 

Charles Bulfmch came to Washington as 
architect of the Capitol in 1818, two years be- 
fore the little band of liberals began their Sun- 
day meetings in the "long room" over the 
public baths. At that time several families of 
Unitarians attended St. John's Church, to 
whose building some of them had contributed. 
There the Bulflnches went for a while and of 
their first Sunday Mr. Bulfmch wrote: 
[20] 



PROMINENT MEMBERS 

"We have attended once at the new church 
near the President's house, a very beautiful 
building. This church is frequented by the 
genteelest society of the place. It is furnished 
with an organ, the only one here, but the 
preacher is so violent in expressing his condem- 
nation of all of different tenets from his own 
that our townsman, John Mason, Esq., re- 
quested one of the Wardens to endeavor to 
control his zeal or at least the harshness of his 
expressions." 

Later, when Mr. and Mrs. Bulfinch had be- 
come known in the community and were still 
attendants at that church, the rector made 
Unitarians the special object of his attack, 
much to the dismay of some of the communi- 
cants who expected, as they said, to see the 
Bulfinches leave the church. His animosity 
toward Unitarians did not prevent this 
doughty theologian from consulting Bulfinch 
in regard to plans for enlarging St. John's. 

Soon after coming to Washington Mr. Bul- 
finch, in a letter to a Boston friend, mentioned 
under the head of the inconveniences of life 
in Washington that there were "a number of 
places of public worship of various denomin- 
ations, but all agreeing in circulating the most 
trinitarian and Calvinistic opinions." It was 
quite natural that he should desire a more con- 
[21] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



genial religious environment and he was soon 
actively interested in the organization of a Uni- 
tarian Society and the building of a church. 
That Bulfinch drew the plans of the First 
Church is well known, but his part in rousing 
public opinion in its favor in the north is not 
so well known. This active interest is shown 
in a letter to his brother-in-law, Joseph Cool- 
idge, wherein he said: 

"I have lately written to P. O. Thacher 
chiefly on the subject of a church commencing 
here on liberal principles. We look for as- 
sistance from your quarter and shall soon 
make our appeal to Boston generosity and 
have no fear that it will be in vain." 

It is pleasing to know that Mr. Coolidge re- 
sponded as desired. In January, 1820, he 
wrote again : 

"Last evening the committee on the new 
church met and requested me to write to 
Boston for advice as to the best methods of ob- 
taining assistance. I shall address a letter in 
a few days to Rev. F. Parkman on the subject. 
He knows our circumstances here better than 
any other of our clergy.' ' 

In the Life and Letters of Charles Bulfinch 
there are given no details of the building of 
[22] 



PROMINENT MEMBERS 

the church under his guidance, but that the 
welfare of the Society was always of impor- 
tance to him is shown. Mrs. Bulflnch, in writ- 
ing to her son Stephen, then at the Harvard 
Divinity School, gave this intimate picture: 

"Dec. 16, 1827. We have witnessed today 
the first baptismal ceremony ever performed 
in our church. Mrs. Poor with her two chil- 
dren and her daughter, Mrs. Webb, with two 
infants came forward to the table and a short 
ceremony and prayer followed." 

Miss Charlotte Elizabeth Webb, who died 
in Washington in 1921, aged ninety-four years, 
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Webb, 
was doubtless one of the children here men- 
tioned. The ceremony was performed by Mr. 
Mott, who supplied the pulpit for a time after 
Mr. Little's death. 

In a letter to another son, just before their 
removal from Washington to Boston in 1829, 
Mrs. Bulflnch wrote: 

"The church is one of those concerns we 
wish to leave settled and prosperous whenever 
we take our departure." 

They left Washington in 1829, to return in 
1838 to spend two years with their youngest 
[23] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

son, Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, who was then 
minister of the church in which they had been 
so interested. 



[24] 



CHAPTER III 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 

Mr. Little's pastorate lasted about six years. 
He died at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, whither 
he had gone for a visit and where he was bur- 
ied, in 1827. Mr. Little had a reputation for 
eloquence which attracted many outside the 
congregation, even those of high degree. Mrs. 
Seaton in a letter to her parents in 1824, said : 

"Lafayette goes with us next Sunday to the 
Unitarian Church, being desirous of hearing 
Mr. Little of whose fervid eloquence he has 
heard so much." 

He was several times asked by the Speaker 
of the House to preach in the hall of the House 
of Representatives. On one of these occasions 
he spoke on "Religious Liberty and Unita- 
rianism Vindicated," and at another time on 
"The Duty of Public Usefulness." A copy 
of this latter sermon may be read at the Li- 
brary of Congress, and the former may be 
[25] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



found in the library of All Souls Church. He 
was not averse to the discussion of current top- 
ics in his pulpit, and once delivered a sermon 
which was spoken of thirty-eight years after- 
ward, by Mr. Seaton, as "a grand sermon, de- 
picting with prophetic force the evils of Gen- 
eral Jackson's election." He evidently had 
a diversity of gifts, being devoted to literature 
and natural science. He was editor during its 
brief existence of the Washington Quarterly 
Magazine, which was devoted apparently to 
whatever promoted the agricultural, commer- 
cial and manufacturing interests of the coun- 
try. It was earnest in advocating the cutting 
of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and it an- 
nounced in each number the issue of patents 
for the preceding quarter. In it were also pub- 
lished monthly meteorological records made 
by its editor. Mr. Little is said to have been 
instrumental in the creation of the Botanical 
Garden. He made a collection of hymns 
for the use of his congregation, which was 
printed by William Cooper, a member of 
that body. Jared Sparks noticed this col- 
lection in his magazine, saying that it was 
made with good taste. A letter by Mrs. Sea- 
ton describes him as "patriarchal in appear- 
ance, mild and truthful yet so energetic in 
[26] 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 

his appeals to the reason and the heart, that 
the most indifferent auditor finds himself 
imperceptibly engaged in self-examination." 
Mr. Little had hesitated to take the leadership 
in the church enterprise for various reasons. 
In his report to the church at its annual meet- 
ing in 1823 he said: "I have never pretended 
to those talents either natural or acquired 
which the distinguished situation of your min- 
ister renders desirable. But all that I have 
has been, and will be, cheerfully devoted to this 
service so long as my ability and your appro- 
bation coincide." At his death, very kindly 
things were said of him by people of other re- 
ligious denominations who seemed to value 
him for his sincerity of life. A funeral sermon 
for Mr. Little was preached in the First 
Church August 12, 1827, by the Rev. Fred- 
eric Farley, who was temporarily occupying 
the pulpit in Baltimore. 

For the remainder of the year 1827 and until 
some time in 1828 the pulpit was supplied by 
ministers from the north, several of whom were 
asked as candidates for the pastorate. The 
choice of a new minister was a matter of inter- 
est not without difficulty. In a letter to a 
northern friend, written from Washington in 
1827, Associate Justice Joseph Story of the 
[27] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



Supreme Court of the United States said: 

"There is no spot in the Union where a very- 
able Unitarian minister is more wanted than 
here. I think such a man would soon gather 
an excellent congregation. But the position 
requires tact as well as talent and elevated 
and fervid piety. It is of very great con- 
sequence to bring such a man here with a view 
to large operations, and our Cambridge 
friends ought to consider that it is not suffi- 
cient to fill the office but to fill it so well as to 
command reverence and attract the busy and 
the gay; the contemplative and the learned. 
I repeat it, a young man of suitable ambition 
and talents ought not to desire a fairer or a 
freer field." 

This was apropos of a sermon by a supply, 
or possible candidate. It may have occurred to 
Justice Story also because of another sermon, 
by an unknown preacher, of which he wrote 
to the same friend: 

"His manner of treating the subject — Rea- 
son and Revelation — was striking and stirring 
and somewhat startling to timid minds, and 
though he dealt with powerful truths, the man- 
ner, to weak brethren, would seem somewhat 
uncompromising and harsh. I was myself 
much pleased, though a little more suavity 
would have made it more generally engag- 
ing." 

[28] 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 

The Society was small, poor and in debt and 
remained so for many years. Then as now 
there was a transient population in the Capital 
which might help fill a church but not its treas- 
ury. Many members were dependent upon the 
administration for their positions and were li- 
able to be thrown out of them when a political 
change should occur. It is gratifying to re- 
cord that, fifty years later, the correction of 
this evil by Civil Service Reform was largely 
due to the efforts of a member of All Souls 
Church, Dorman B. Eaton. Though poor 
in purse, the people were rich in ideals and 
sought a minister equally endowed. The Rev. 
John Pierpont bluntly stated the situation 
when he replied to a correspondent here: 

"There is difficulty in meeting your wishes 
. . . for the simple reason that the gentle- 
man who would fill your pulpit as you wish, 
and as it ought to be filled, is not to be had. 
Your beau-ideal exists only in idea." 

Massachusetts was the source of supply and, 
in the light of the after careers of many whom 
she sent here, would seem to have done very 
well by the poor but ambitious church. 

Perhaps one cause of the church's slow 
[29] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

growth was its geographical location. The 
place was not suited to the social ideas which 
were the mainspring of Unitarianism. The- 
ologically Unitarianism attracted many by its 
common-sense explanation or setting aside of 
long accepted dogmas, but when it insisted on 
doing as one would be done by, and on loving 
one's neighbor as one's self, the matter was dif- 
ficult by either precept or example in the midst 
of slavery. Candidates came, took in the sit- 
uation, thought it an impossible one, and went 
away. Edward Everett Hale has said of his 
impression in 1844: 

"I knew perfectly well that there was to be 
a gulf of fire between the North and the South 
before things went much further and I really 
distrusted my own capacity at the age of 
twenty-three to build a bridge which should 
take us over." 

Mr. Little had been obliged to eke out his 
salary by clerical work for the government. 
In this he was not alone, as Charles Bulfinch, 
writing to his wife, said: 

"No parish is large enough to give a living 
to or tempt any man of superior talents to fix 
with: indeed they are all obliged to follow 
some other calling to enable them to gain a 
[30] 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 

support. Most of them keep private schools, 
but several are writers in the public offices 
during the week." 

Some years later, when Mr. Bulfinch's son, 
Stephen, was minister of the Unitarian parish, 
this obligation still existed, and the Committee 
of Management applied to the War Depart- 
ment for some position which would add to the 
income of the young pastor. After enumer- 
ating the qualities he possessed that would 
make him an efficient clerk, they said that be- 
cause he spoke ex tempore he would be able to 
give the requisite time to clerical duties with- 
out inconvenience to himself. John Quincy 
Adams mentions with some show of annoy- 
ance the fact of Mr. Little's having asked his 
help in securing more pay from the govern- 
ment. Later, when the Rev. Mr. Palfrey 
asked his influence in obtaining the position of 
assistant doorkeeper of the House of Repre- 
sentatives for one of his parishioners, he re- 
plied that the applicant should have the influ- 
ence but that he had disqualifications for the 
place which would defeat him, viz. : that he was 
a Yankee and a Unitarian. 

It is greatly to the credit of both ministers 
and laity that they persisted in spite of pov- 
erty and unpopularity, in keeping alive the 

[31] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



flickering flame on the altar of their faith. 
In 1829, when the church felt obliged to ask 
help from the denomination in order to pre- 
vent the loss of their building, even Dr. Chan- 
ning wrote Judge Cranch a very discouraging 
letter in which, after enumerating reasons why 
it would be difficult to raise money for the pur- 
pose, he said: 

"I found, too, what I confess surprised me, 
that the importance of Washington as a reli- 
gious station, though generally acknowledged, 
was not felt by some very judicious persons." 

This was in reference to that part of the pe- 
tition sent Dr. Channing, which stated: 

"We wish to exhibit here in the centre of 
the Union, at the seat of the National Govern- 
ment, not only the simple doctrines of pure 
Christianity but an example of religious re- 
publicanism, a model of an independent 
church, unfettered by human creeds and un- 
awed by the mandates of Popes and Bishops, 
Presbyters and Councils, Synods and Sessions, 
and all the contrivances by which spiritual 
pride seeks to control the consciences of men — 
manfully to assert that liberty with which 
Christ has made us free." 

In that spirit they went bravely on in their 
[32] 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 

efforts to save the church in spite of discour- 
agement from the High Priest of their faith. 
Of their struggles then and later Mr. Francis 
Ormond French said, when presenting a win- 
dow to All Souls in memory of his mother, 
Elizabeth Richardson French: 

"The period was one of feebleness for the 
society. It was misunderstood and misrepre- 
sented in the community and at times politi- 
cal dissensions threatened its existence. But 
the families of Seaton, both Taylors, Purdy, 
Brown, Adams, Webb, the venerable John 
Quincy Adams, Judge Cranch and Mr. Fill- 
more during his presidency, stood together in 
the old church edifice as in a strong fortress." 

Adverse conditions did not change for many 
years and the records of the First Church are 
pathetic reading. Danger that *its building 
might be sold was probably averted by renewal 
of the mortgage on it. This relief was tem- 
porary and in a few years another appeal was 
necessary. In 1823 the trustees said, after ex- 
plaining the financial difficulties of the church : 
"Under these circumstances, the proprietors 
of the church feel themselves compelled to ap- 
peal to the sympathy and enlightened charity 
of those Christians out of their immediate 
neighborhood who take an interest in the prog- 
[33] 



A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM 



ress of rational religion, and especially of 
those views of Christianity which the wisest 
and best men in the community have regarded 
as most salutary to society, most sustaining to 
human hope, and most honorable to the gov- 
ernment and character of God. The pro- 
prietors of this church are persuaded that 
gentlemen in this vicinity will feel, that the cir- 
cumstances of their case are peculiarly inter- 
esting. They can not reproach themselves 
with extravagance, or with having made any 
other than the best possible use of their means. 
They are willing to ask those gentlemen who 
have visited Washington and seen their church, 
whether, at the same expense, more has been 
done in any part of the country. They con- 
sider, too, that it is not only important to them 
as a religious society, that they should be able 
to worship God together in spirit and in peace ; 
but it is also of importance to the general in- 
terests of rational Christianity that at the seat 
of the National Government, there should be a 
place where Unitarians, from different sections 
of the country, may meet in social worship; 
and where the most eminent men in the nation 
may have an opportunity of hearing the reli- 
gion of the New Testament represented as 
something that shall command their respect, 
[34] 



THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE 

and lead them back, from the skepticism into 
which the finest minds are too often driven by 
irrational views of religion, to the hopes and 
the peace which flow from enlightened faith. 
They ask reluctantly but earnestly. They ask 
of those whose liberal hearts are not unused 
to the devising of liberal things, and who do 
what their hearts devise, with a deep convic- 
tion that God is not unrighteous to forget the 
offices of benevolence which they shall have 
shewed in his name." This was a circular let- 
ter to be distributed or presented in the north 
by Mr. Philip Mauro. 

In 1835 the same danger moved the trus- 
tees to ask the church members and the people 
of Washington for help. This troublesome 
spectre of debt was not banished until the time 
of the reorganization of the Society and the 
new start in 1877. 



[35] 



CHAPTER IV 



MINISTERS OF THE FIRST CHURCH 

From 1821 to 1921, the Unitarian pulpit 
has been occupied for longer or shorter periods 
by nineteen ministers. Not all were settled as 
pastors, but all contributed toward the estab- 
lishment in the National Capital of the "sweet 
reasonableness" of a liberal faith. 

The first successor to Mr. Little who served 
long enough continuously to be designated as 
a pastor was Andrew Bigelow. His stay was 
of one year's duration, from some date in 1828 
to 1829. He was a young man just entering 
upon the profession which later he signally 
honored. After leaving Washington, Mr. 
Bigelow was for some years minister at Taun- 
ton, Massachusetts. In 1845 he began the 
work as minister at large among the poor in 
Boston, which ennobled his life. There for 
thirty-two years he served those in his charge 
as friend and adviser in temporal needs and as 
instructor in moral and spiritual matters. 
[36] 



MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH 

There he was entitled to be called a pastor. 
He died in 1877. 

The short ministry of Andrew Bigelow was 
followed by that of Cazneau Palfrey, which 
lasted nearly six years. Very little can be 
learned from the church records in regard to 
the period from 1830 to 1836. It is known 
that at Mr. Palfrey's ordination in Washing- 
ton, the officiating clergymen were Dr. Bur- 
nap of Baltimore, the Rev. Francis Parkman 
of Boston, and the Rev. Hersey B. Goodwin 
of Concord, Massachusetts. For this occa- 
sion Stephen G. Bulfinch wrote a hymn, which 
dealt especially with Mr. Little's death and 
Mr. Palfrey's coming to take the place thus 
made vacant. It is interesting because of the 
fact that its author grew up in Mr. Little's 
church and was destined to be Mr. Palfrey's 
successor in the same church. The records of 
the Harvard Divinity School show that after 
leaving Washington Mr. Palfrey was minister 
at Grafton and Barnstable, Massachusetts, 
until 1847, and at Belfast, Maine, for twenty- 
three years from 1848 to 1871. He died at 
Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1888. Among 
the church papers is a little slip, brown with 
age, on which is written a resolution offered 
by Joseph Gales, Jr., and adopted by the Com- 
[37] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



mittee of Management, December 10, 1834. 
It reads: "Resolved, that in order to keep 
up a spirit of inquiry on the subject of Reli- 
gion, the Rev. Mr. Palfrey, our much esteemed 
pastor, be requested to deliver on Sunday eve- 
nings during the present session of Congress, 
a popular Discourse on some leading doctrine 
of the Unitarian System and cause the same to 
be announced in the City Papers on the pre- 
ceding Saturday, and that the Pews of the 
Church will be open as heretofore to all who 
desire to attend." 

Mr. Conway, in his sermon "The Old and 
the New" delivered December 31, 1854, said 
of Mr. Palfrey: "His ministry was attended 
with success. He presented in a series of Lec- 
tures the reasons which his congregation had 
for separation from other churches, in a forc- 
ible manner. In the year named (1836) he 
left for private reasons, to the sorrow of the 
church and himself." 

The interim of seven months between Mr. 
Palfrey and Stephen G. Bulflnch was filled 
by the Rev. Frederic A. Farley. Like several 
other pastorates, as given in Dr. Shippen's 
calendar, its length hardly justifies such des- 
ignation. But it shows, as do the others, that 
it was the intention of the church and the de- 
[38] 



MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH 



nomination to bring to the Capital, even for 
short stays only, men of marked mental cali- 
ber and merit. 

Mr. Farley had prepared himself for the 
practice of the law, which he relinquished to 
enter the Harvard Divinity School in prepar- 
ation for the ministry. His first important 
settlement was at Providence, Rhode Island. 
Afterward he was for some years in Brooklyn, 
New York. It was he who came to Washing- 
ton at Judge Cranch's request to preach a fu- 
neral sermon for Robert Little, the first minis- 
ter. 

The name of Bulfinch occurs not only in the 
history of the laity of the church, but in that 
of the ministry as well. Stephen G. Bulfinch, 
tenth and youngest son of the celebrated ar- 
chitect, was the fourth settled minister of the 
First Church. He succeeded the Rev. Caz- 
neau Palfrey in 1838, and retained the pulpit 
until 1844. His boyhood was spent in Wash- 
ington, from his ninth year, where he gradu- 
ated from Columbian College in 1827. After 
three years at the Harvard Divinity School, 
he was ordained as an Evangelist and went to 
Augusta, Georgia, there to enter upon an 
Evangelist's duties. He edited there for a 
year or more a quarterly called The Unitar- 
[39] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



ian Christian. He came as minister to Wash- 
ington from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The 
records of his pastorate in Washington are 
very meager. Several of the sermons he 
preached here may be found in the Library of 
Congress as also copies of his poems and other 
writings. He was an earnest student, and a 
writer of hymns and books for use of Sunday 
Schools. Some of his hymns are still in use. 
He substituted for Dr. George R. Noyes, pro- 
fessor of Greek and Latin in the Harvard Di- 
vinity School, during an illness of Dr. Noyes. 
One of his sermons, published by request by 
Gales and Seaton, was suggested by Weare's 
picture in the Capitol of the "Embarkation 
of the Pilgrims." It has a more modern tone 
than much of the writing of the time and is 
very readable. In it he spoke of the P'ilgrims 
as the ' 'trebly refined gold of the English dis- 
senting body," and foreshadowing national 
events he said "God grant that without civil 
dissension or individual injustice the cause of 
freedom may yet have entire and triumphant 
success in our land." Mr. Bulfinch was very 
hospitable to other sects and welcomed the 
Lutherans when they established their church 
at the Capital. He was opposed to persecu- 
tion of any sect, and was long gratefully re- 
[40] 



MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH 

membered by some Catholics in Washington 
because of his attitude at a time when the tide 
of religious and political feeling set strongly 
against them. 

Here Edward Everett Hale, in October, 
1844, began the career which took him into na- 
tional and universal rank as preacher, au- 
thor and philanthropist. The letter in which 
he gave his reasons for declining the position 
offered him by the First Church is interesting 
as an evidence that in a literary sense the boy 
was father to the man, and as an hitherto un- 
published document by a famous author. It 
was addressed to the Standing Committee of 
the Unitarian Society, Washington. It was 
dated, Washington, Saturday, Nov. 23, 1844, 
and said : 

"Gentlemen: Since our conversation of 
Monday evening I have given the most care- 
ful consideration to the invitation you extended 
to me in behalf of the Unitarian Society. 

"On full reflection I can not feel that I 
ought to undertake the duties of your minister. 
For it is but a short time since I entered on 
the labors of my profession. I have therefore 
neither such professional resources nor exper- 
ience as would justify me in proposing to my- 
self the responsible duties of an isolated posi- 
[41] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



tion of such importance, which would separate 
me so far from all my early associations. I 
say this in full recollection of the thoughtful 
consideration of the Society, for I am very 
grateful to all its members for the kind atten- 
tion with which they have received my efforts 
in its service; and for the cordial hospitality 
which has made my residence in Washington 
so agreeable to me. 

"I shall be glad to supply the pulpit as at 
present until the first of February or perhaps 
the first of March, unless at any time the Com- 
mittee should prefer some other arrangement. 

''With great respect, Gentlemen, 
"I am Truly Yours, 

"Edward E. Hale." 

From thi c pulpit also spoke Samuel Long- 
fellow, for a s'hort time only, but long enough 
to deliver his soul of its burden on the subject 
of slavery. When he came to Washington 
for the month of April in 1847, Mr. Long- 
fellow had just finished his preparation for the 
ministry and had not yet settled with any 
church. He was probably a candidate for the 
pulpit of the First Church. This may be in- 
ferred from his writing to his friend, Samuel 
Johnson, that he thought they would never set- 
tle any man who was an abolitionist. The let- 
ter was written soon after Mr. Longfellow had 
said his word to the church as to slavery. He 
[42] 



The Reverend Rush R. Shippen (1881-1895) 



MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH 

had hoped to be able to get through the month 
with no very positive expression of opinion in 
regard to that institution, but the final Sunday 
found him convinced that he must not leave it 
unmentioned. He had discovered in the 
church a degree of indifference toward the 
great evil which he thought merited reproof, 
and this he determined to give. He said after- 
ward that he did this, mildly but plainly; that 
"they took it beautifully, no one went out, and 
some came to say good-bye." Through the 
long years since that Sunday, darkened by fu- 
rious agitations and political actions, which 
culminated in war, this earnest effort of a 
young preacher shines with the light of a "good 
deed in a naughty world." Samuel Long- 
fellow became one of the denomination's best 
known ministers. He held long pastorates in 
Brooklyn and Philadelphia. He was one of 
America's best hymn writers, a man of fine 
soul and beautiful life. 

Here at different periods preached Orville 
Dewey to large congregations who listened to 
his eloquent presentation of a practical rather 
than a dogmatic Christianity. Of Dr. Dewey, 
his intimate friend, Dr. Henry W. Bellows, 
said : "Dewey is undoubtedly the founder and 
most conspicuous example of what is best in 
[43] 



MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH 



the modern school of preaching. Like Frank- 
lin, who trained the lightning of the sky to 
respect the safety and finally to run the er- 
rands of men on earth, Dewey brought religion 
from its remote home and domesticated it in 
the immediate present. He first successfully 
taught its application to the business of the 
market and the street, to . the offices of the 
home and the pleasures of society. We are 
so familiar with this method now prevalent in 
the best pulpits of all Christian bodies that we 
forget the originality and boldness of the hand 
that first turned the current of religion into 
the ordinary channel of life and upon the work- 
ing wheels of daily business." 

Dr. Dewey spent three winters in Wash- 
ington as Minister of the First Unitarian 
Church. Educated and ordained in orthodoxy, 
he had remained but one year in her service. 
In 1821 he was appointed assistant to Dr. Wil- 
liam E. Channing, and a few years afterward 
was called to the Unitarian Church in New 
Bedford. In that city he remained eleven 
years and gave up the charge only because of 
a condition of health which forbade contin- 
uous application. After a long rest he ac- 
cepted the invitation which came to him from 
the Second Congregational Society of New 
[44] 



A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM 



York. This Society was long known as the 
Church of the Messiah. In New York he re- 
mained until 1849. Dr. Dewey's first winter 
in Washington, that of 1846-47, was by way of 
relief from the onerous duties of the New York 
charge. The second and third winters fol- 
lowed soon after his resignation of the New 
York pulpit. The demands here were not 
greater than he could meet physically, and his 
coming brought to the Unitarian Church and 
to the Capital one of the finest minds in the 
denomination and the country. 

Of his second winter in Washington, that 
of 1851-52, Dr. Dewey said : "Life in Wash- 
ington was not agreeable to me and yet I felt 
a singular attachment to the people there. 
This mixture of repulsion and attraction I 
could not understand at the time, but walking 
these streets two or three years later when 
experience had become history I could read 
it. In London or Paris, the presence of the 
government is hardly felt; the action of pub- 
lic affairs is merged and lost in the life of a 
great city, but in Washington it is the all- 
absorbing business of the place. Now, 
whether it be pride or sympathy, one does not 
enjoy a great movement of things going on 
around him in which he has no part, and the 
[45] 



MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH 



thoughts and aims of a retired and studious 
man especially sever him from the views and 
interests of public men. But on the other 
hand this very pressure of an all-surrounding 
public life brings private men closer together. 
There they stand while the tides of successive 
administrations sweep by them and their re- 
lation becomes constantly more interesting 
from the fluctuation of everything else." 

Dr. Dewey's explanation reveals vividly the 
change which the succeeding years have 
wrought in the life of the Capital. Where 
once government affairs were first in the minds 
of all, and even churches were regulated by 
the coming and going of the Congress, they 
are now as completely merged in the interests 
of a great city as were those of France and 
England in the Paris and London of which he 
thought in 1851. Washington has attained 
identity since that date. 

In a letter to Dr. Ware, and excusing an 
ebullition of nonsense with which he had be- 
gun, Dr. Dewey wrote: "Life is such a sol- 
emn abstraction to a clergyman in Washing- 
ton! What has he to do but what is solemn? 
The gayety passes him by; the politics pass 
him by ; nobody wants him ; nobody holds him 
[46] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

by the buttonhole but some desperate, dilapi- 
dated philanthropist." 

The shadow of slavery darkened life in 
Washington for Dr. Dewey and was the sub- 
ject of very serious thinking by him. He was 
not in accord with the extreme ideas of north- 
ern abolitionists. He differed with them as to 
ways of removing the evil. He abhorred it 
as much as they did. He was misrepresented 
and misunderstood by many. He believed 
that emancipation should be gradual, and in 
this opinion he was not alone. In Washing- 
ton he met statesmen from both North and 
South with whom he discussed the subject of 
slavery. The opinions thus gathered indi- 
cated, to his mind, disunion of the states. Of 
this he said: "I fear disunion and no mortal 
line can sound the depth of that calamity." 
When issues between the two sections were 
more clearly drawn, his judgment was cer- 
tain and unerring. His only son served in the 
Union army when the condition he had fore- 
seen came to pass. 

From 1847 to 1850 Joseph Henry Allen was 
minister, during a season of more or less anx- 
iety because of the narrow means of the so- 
ciety. After leaving Washington Mr. Allen 



MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH 



became distinguished as author, editor and 
lecturer on history in the Divinity School of 
Harvard University. College students of a 
generation or two ago may discover in him 
the joint author of many of the Latin text- 
books used in their classical course, but this 
authorship was a minor incident in a life rich 
in scholarly and literary attainment. 



[48] 



CHAPTER V 



THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY 

On February 28, 1855, was installed Mon- 
cure D. Conway, who alone has represented 
the South in the Unitarian pulpit of Washing- 
ton. Probably no greater enthusiasm ever in- 
spired a minister there than that of the young 
Virginian, born in 1832, who, having overcome 
tradition by reason, in both religion and pol- 
itics, was fired by such a zeal for absolute right 
as to make him intolerant of compromise an$ 
possibly impolitic in method. His utterances 
on the slavery question brought about his dis- 
missal as minister. Throughout a long, wan- 
dering, intensely interesting life, the bond of 
friendship between himself and some of his 
former parishioners remained unbroken. To 
them he was the lovable friend, to the world 
he was the radical and somewhat eccentric 
thinker, the impulsive actor, the interesting 
writer, who must in fairness be set down as 
"one who loved his fellow men." 

[49] 



THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY 

Mr. Conway's pastorate proved to be a spec- 
tacular as well as a serious period in the life 
of the church. It may be doubted whether 
the most discreet and non-committal minister 
could have further delayed the bursting into 
flame of the fire that had been smouldering so 
long. It would seem certain that with the 
accession to the pulpit of an ardently sincere 
young man, filled with the zeal of the convert 
and the reformer, and quite self-confident, no 
other result could have been expected than that 
which followed. Mr. Conway was twenty - 
two years old when he took charge of the 
Washington church. His lineage was that of 
education, culture and prominence in public 
affairs. On the plantations of his father and 
his uncles, young Conway saw slavery at its 
best. His maturing mind soon began to dis- 
cover the moral and economic evils of the sys- 
tem. Later with broader vision in all things, 
its absolute wrong was very plain to him. In 
his autobiography, Mr. Conway said that he 
came by his anti-slavery notions honestly, as 
one of his ancestors had been one of the early 
emancipationists of Virginia. His father be- 
lieved that slavery was doomed and often made 
this assertion to his son. 

Mr. Conway's parents were Methodists who 
[50] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



had broken the regular family order in reli- 
gious matters, which was Episcopalian. Their 
Methodism was of a strict nature, wherein the 
day of judgment loomed large, as every action 
was considered in relation to that dread day. 
Yet the geniality of Methodism was not 
wholly lacking in the family circle, and life 
was very happy there. 

At fifteen years of age, Mr. Conway was a 
sophomore at Dickinson College, Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania, whence he graduated in 1849. 
He had before this time passed through the 
religious experience of conversion and it was 
the hope of his father that the ministry might 
be his choice of profession. The fascination 
of writing had taken possession of his mind 
and for some time delayed this choice. When 
made, it was that of the law. His study, though 
diligent, left time for other reading and for 
writing. Thinking that Virginia was losing 
her status as leader in intelligence in the re- 
public, he began to search for the reason. He 
believed it was found in her lack of a public 
school system. He wrote a pamphlet on the 
subject of public schools, which he published 
and distributed among the prominent men of 
his State. Nothing came from it and its au- 
thor began to consider carefully Horace Gree- 
[51] 



THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY 

ley's statement that Virginia's white children 
would not be educated until her colored chil- 
dren were free. 

Mr. Conway was convinced by this expe- 
rience that writing did not appeal to the pub- 
lic, and that the spoken word was necessary to 
carry to the people the message he was sure 
he had for them. Then suddenly he saw the 
power which a Methodist minister might exert, 
if he cared to do so, and declared his intention 
of becoming one. In a short time he was ap- 
pointed to the Rockville, Maryland, circuit. 
He had lately begun reading Emerson and 
Carlyle, and their writings with a book by 
Coleridge jostled the Methodist discipline, 
Taylor's Holy Living and Dying and Wat- 
son's Theology, in the circuit rider's saddle 
bags. No disastrous results of this conflict of 
opinions were apparent, but it chanced that 
his circuit took in a community of Hicksite 
Quakers, and some other liberal-minded peo- 
ple, with whom in the course of time Mr. 
Conway became acquainted. Through his 
reading of Emerson, and through his observa- 
tion of the fact that people, living the finest 
of lives, cared nothing for the dogmas which 
he thought necessary, the leaven of liberalism 
entered his mind and began to work. Very 
[52] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

soon his conscience forbade him longer to ride 
the circuit. He took a week's vacation and 
went to visit relatives in Baltimore, where he 
consulted Dr. Burnap, Unitarian minister. 
He was advised and helped financially to en- 
ter the Harvard Divinity School. His 
father, grieved and disappointed, refused him 
any aid. The fact that his course was a cause 
of sorrow to those dearest to him was the only 
shadow upon the new, active, congenial life 
which opened before him. During the three 
years at the Divinity School, Mr. Conway was 
in daily contact with anti-slavery agitators as 
well as with the leaders of liberal religious 
ideas. His mind furnished fertile soil for the 
seed of extreme opinions and he left there a 
radical in politics and religion. He had neg- 
lected no opportunity for culture during his 
Cambridge sojourn. Art, music and the 
drama contributed materially to the develop- 
ment of his liberalism, opening avenues which 
he never ceased to explore. Not long after 
bis graduation, he was asked to supply the 
Washington pulpit temporarily, and on Oc- 
tober 29, 1854, was elected minister by the 
church. 

His installation was made an event by the 
congregation. John Weiss preached the ser- 
[53] 



THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY 

mon and Dr. Burnap gave the ministerial 
charge. These men were Mr. Conway's 
choice. In his autobiography, Mr. Conway 
said that in his first sermon before his election 
he mentioned slavery and that on the day of 
his appointment he said, "The Church must 
hold itself ready to pass free judgments on all 
custom, ideas and facts; on trade and politics 
— and in this country more especially hold 
itself ready to give free utterance in relation 
to our special sin — the greatest of all sins — 
human slavery." It is but fair to say that 
every minister before him had put himself on 
record in some way in regard to slavery, and 
none had favored it. 

His first published sermon to which refer- 
ence has heretofore been made in these pages 
was entitled "The Old and The New" and 
contained a history of the church up to that 
date, December 31, 1854. His unorthodox 
views as to dispensations of Providence were 
shown in a sermon preached when a plague 
was prevalent in Norfolk, Virginia. He said 
that while he could not see God in the pesti- 
lence he could see a Satan, "namely, the evil 
institution that degrades labor and herds fam- 
ilies into squalid quarters where disease and 
crime find their nests." The city authorities 
[54] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



had asked churches "to unite in petitions to 
Almighty God in behalf of those whom He 
has seen fit to visit so sorely and that He will 
be pleased to avert from us such terrible ca- 
lamity." The Unitarian church was not 
opened for such service, but the sermon quoted 
was printed — with a preface more sarcastic 
than discreet — and distributed instead. Mr. 
Conway would seem to have had the support 
of his congregation in such action. It brought 
forth much criticism from orthodox pulpits. 
This was answered in a sermon on "Pharisaism 
and Fasting." This incident was probably 
more remarkable in its religious than in its 
political sense ; but it was like the sermon that 
followed it, a ripple on the surface of the 
strong current which was carrying the country 
forward to the great event. 

On January 26, 1856, a sermon by the min- 
ister on "The One Path or the Duties of the 
North and South," called forth a report from 
the Committee of Management to the congre- 
gation in which they expressed their regret at 
the course of the minister and their disapproval 
of the use of the pulpit for political discussion. 
They regretted also the fact that notices by 
the press of the country made the church re- 
sponsible for its minister's utterances. There- 
[55] 



THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY 

fore they wished the church to disavow such 
responsibility. The congregation voted that 
Mr. Conway should be informed of the Com- 
mittee's report. 

In reply Mr. Conway made plain the fact 
that he would not submit to any restriction in 
the pulpit, and that if moved to speak again 
as he had spoken he would not be checked by 
the action of the church. He spoke, again 
and again, with the result that some members 
left the church while others remained at home, 
and the congregation was made up largely of 
strangers. 

The situation was a serious one for the Com- 
mittee of Management. The affairs of the 
church were becoming involved and necessary 
repairs to the building were to be provided for. 
The climax was reached on July 6, 1856, when 
Mr. Conway preached a sermon on "War and 
its Present Threatenings" which caused the 
church to refer the matter of the independent 
course of the minister to a special committee 
of investigation with instructions to report. 
The church was closed until the following Oc- 
tober, and the minister spent his vacation in 
the North where he solicited aid toward the 
repairs of the building. Of this tragic July 
Sunday, Mr. Conway has said: "When my 
[56] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



discourse had ended that morning, I gave out 
the hymn as usual and the organist played the 
tune, but the choir did not sing. It was a 
quartet of church members and they were so 
troubled by my discourse that they could not 
sing. Harmony had left the old church for- 
ever. The assembly sat for some moments in 
weird silence. I uttered a benediction from 
my heart, after which most of them slowly 
moved out while others pressed up to grasp 
my hand." Early in October, an adjourned 
meeting of July 13th was held. The special 
investigation committee made no report. The 
subject was generally discussed and a resolu- 
tion passed dissolving the relation which ex- 
isted between Mr. Conway and the First Uni- 
tarian Church. When informed of this action, 
Mr. Conway claimed that the meeting had 
been "illegally conducted and was violative of 
the constitution." He said he asked only "a 
full, fair and legal expression" of the church. 
He gave several reasons for his belief. This 
attempt to reverse the decision of the church 
was not successful and in a few weeks Mr. 
Conway received a call to the Unitarian 
Church of Cincinnati. He preached accept- 
ably there for some time. 

The church's unpleasant relation to Mr. 
[57] 



THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY 

Conway had been made worse by the fact that 
money had been given to him by northern 
Unitarians on condition that the pulpit should 
be free for discussion of slavery. After the 
dismissal of Mr. Conway, several of the con- 
tributors wrote very positive letters as to the 
conditions on which they had given money and 
as to the action of the church in severing its re- 
lation with Mr. Conway. In some instances 
these were not such as to promote harmony 
between northern and southern Unitarians. 
On the other hand, the church, through its 
Committee on Repairs, declared: "The 
church never has and never will pledge itself 
to the anti-slavery or the pro-slavery cause. 
In its extremest need it will with the blessings 
of God preserve its independence. . . . The 
First Unitarian Society of Washington never 
gave nor authorized the promises and pledges 
upon which those funds were given, and never 
have and never will receive one farthing of 
them coupled with any such condition." 

Some of the church members who con- 
demned Mr. Conway's action were anti-slavery 
men, while some of his best personal friends 
were politically opposed to him. During the 
Civil War, Mr. Conway was neither idle nor 
silent. Voice and pen gave utterance to con- 
[58] 




The Reverend E. Bradford Leavitt (1897-1900) 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



victions and schemes — the convictions sincere, 
the schemes not always practical and occasion- 
ally indiscreet. Early in the conflict he dis- 
covered that his father's slaves were refugees 
in Georgetown. He got them together and 
with the aid of military officials succeeded in 
taking them to southern Ohio, where he set- 
tled them in homes of their own. Mr. Con- 
way's ministry in Cincinnati was his last in 
America. Before the war ended, he went to 
London, England, as a minister for The Free 
Religious Society there, and the remainder of 
his life was mostly spent abroad. He died in 
Paris, France, November 15, 1907. 

The ministry of the Rev. W. D. Haley is 
noticeable now chiefly because of its setting 
between that of Conway and Channing. Mr. 
Haley was apparently a young minister of 
promise when he came to Washington. He 
had graduated from Meadville in 1853, had 
helped to organize the church at Alton, Illi- 
nois, and had been its minister from 1853 to 
1856. He had won recognition from the 
leaders of the denomination as a capable pion- 
eer of liberalism in the Middle West. The 
city of Alton proved to be a storm center of 
pro-slavery activity, and because of Mr. 
Haley's opposition his church was broken into 
[59] 



THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY 

and its windows demolished. For this opposi- 
tion he was censured and naturally the result 
was his resignation as minister. An item in 
the Christian Register in 1855 speaks of a tour 
that Mr. Haley had lately made among the 
Chippewa Indians, which had resulted in his 
obtaining much valuable scientific and liter- 
ary information. 

In 1858, Mr. Haley was called to the Wash- * 
ington church. Why the church should have 
chosen a minister who was in a way a martyr 
for his reproof of pro-slavery methods, after 
having itself dismissed Mr. Conway for a very 
similar reason, is hard to understand. But 
thus it was. Mr. Haley retained the pulpit 
until his enlistment in the Civil War in 1861. 
Concerning his last Sunday in Washington, 
the Christian Register in February of that 
year quoted the Christian Inquirer as saying: 
"Rev. W. D. Haley closed his ministry of 
three years and more in the Unitarian Church. 
Hon. Edward Everett, Thomas D. Eliot and 
other distinguished gentlemen were present. 
A discourse was preached by the editor of the 
Christian Inquirer on Hope in God, after 
which communion was administered. Not 
having seen this church since its renovation, we 
[60] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



were impressed by its elegance and conven- 
ience." This item further stated that "in 
establishing a mission school for poor chil- 
dren Mr. Haley had made a movement in 
Washington of a useful and an important 
kind, which we trust will be revived and con- 
tinued." 

To Mr. Frank J. Metcalf, of Washington, 
the church is indebted for information regard- 
ing Mr. Haley. As a hymnologist he has dis- 
covered that this minister published a church 
service together with a compilation of hymns. 
Following the hymns, in this very uncommon 
book there is an "Order for Evening Prayer 
compiled for the use of the First Church of 
Washington," in 1858, and "Dedicated to the 
church by its affectionate pastor, W. D. 
Haley." Mr. Metcalf's researches have re- 
vealed the fact that Mr. Haley was of English 
birth, and a student at Harvard before going 
to Meadville. He left the Washington pul- 
pit to enter the army as Chaplain of the 17th 
Massachusetts Volunteers. He was after- 
ward a Lieutenant in the army, and another 
enlistment as Captain completed his military 
record. After the Civil War, Mr. Haley 
would seem not to have resumed the ministry 
[61] 



THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY 

but to have chosen the life of a wandering 
printer and newspaper correspondent, which 
led him finally to California where he died in 
San Jose in 1890. 



[62] 



CHAPTER VI 

THE CHURCH IN THE CIVIL WAR 

The name of Channing, synonymous in the 
Unitarian mind with liberal-mindedness and 
philanthropy, was worthily borne by the min- 
ister of the First Church in 1861. This man 
was William Henry Channing, nephew of 
William Ellery Channing. The annals of 
Unitarianism are rich in idealists, but few have 
had the all-embracing vision that distinguished 
William Henry Channing. Universal broth- 
erhood was the only satisfying answer to the 
questionings of his exacting mind. Every re- 
form that might help toward this end found an 
ardent advocate in him — whether it was social, 
political or religious. To the anti-slavery 
question, to woman's rights, to socialism and 
transcendentalism, he gave himself with a zeal 
not exceeded by that of the leaders in these 
matters. His was not the mind to offer prac- 
tical methods of accomplishment, but his the 
impassioned word to envisage wrong and move 
the hearts of men to pity and to justice. It is 
[63] 



CHURCH IN THE CIVIL WAR 

useless to try to give any adequate idea of this 
great-souled man in a few words. As he gave 
distinction to the Unitarian pulpit in Washing- 
ton in a great national crisis, more than casual 
mention should be made of him. 

First of all he was eminently a preacher. 
Christopher P. Cranch has said of him: 

"He seemed to me then the most eloquent 
and fervid of preachers — all other preaching 
was tame in comparison. I have never seen 
such purely intense aspiration in any speaker. 
It is hard to describe a man who seemed so per- 
fect. He would have appeared like one of the 
saints of the old time had not his keen, culti- 
vated but restless intellect and his broad, lib- 
eral tendencies allied him to all the nearest and 
most practical interests of life." 

Mr. Channing's interest in reforms had 
brought him occasionally to Washington and 
he had hoped that his ministerial fortunes 
might fix him here, but friends had dissuaded 
him from such thought. In 1854 he went to 
Liverpool, England, as minister at Renshaw 
Chapel. Of his first sermon there, Mrs. 
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote to Channing's 
mother : 

"I have never heard a sermon, not even 
from Dr. Channing (W. E.), so grand in its 
[64] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

scope, so complete in symmetry and propor- 
tion, so perfect a unit as a work of art, and at 
the same time so rich and tender in spirit." 

His biographer, O. B. Frothingham, said 
that "the churches where he preached became 
resorts of the most spiritual people and Uni- 
tarianism a name for the loftiest aspirations." 

The politics of his native country still en- 
gaged Mr. Channing's mind and he watched 
events there most carefully. In 1861 he 
came home to visit his mother and take a 
closer look at national affairs, and now there 
was none so bold as to advise against his 
taking the Washington pulpit when the chance 
came. The hour called for a leader of highest 
rank in ability, loyalty and faith, and such was 
Channing. Temporizing, if that had been the 
policy in regard to the Washington church, 
could be indulged in no longer. He was in- 
stalled as minister on December 9, 1861. Of 
him then, John W. Chadwick said: 

"There for once was complete adjustment 
between the man and his environment — as 
minister of the Unitarian church converting 
its building into a hospital; as a worker in the 
sanitary commission, as chaplain of the House 
of Representatives his heart was wholly in his 
work." 

[65] 



CHURCH IN THE CIVIL WAR 

His first Sunday in the church was thus re- 
ported by the correspondent of The New York 
Evening Post: "Rev. Mr. Channing, of Liv- 
erpool, on Sunday preached his first ser- 
mon in the Unitarian Church here as regular 
pastor. The church is not in a very healthy 
pecuniary condition, but . there are so many 
northerners here now that it is expected they 
will come in and sustain a clergyman who is 
alive to the issues of the hour. Every time he 
has preached here the house has been crowded 
to inconvenient fullness, and there is little 
doubt that his acceptance of a call to the Soci- 
ety will prove a success in every meaning of the 
word. Times have changed since Mr. Con- 
way was forced to leave the same church for 
the expression of anti-slavery sentiment. Mr. 
Channing does not hesitate boldly to support 
the war from his pulpit nor to dwell at length 
on the causes of the war." 

It was his inspiration to suggest offering the 
church building as a hospital. In return for 
the gift, promptly accepted by Secretary Stan- 
ton, the congregation was invited to meet in 
the Senate chamber. Mr. Channing was made 
chaplain of the House of Representatives in 
the winter of 1863-64. 

[66] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

He had resigned his position in England, 
but his family remained there. 

For the time, the duty of both minister and 
congregation was largely the expression of loy- 
alty as shown in the care of wounded and sick 
soldiers. It may be assumed that the minis- 
ter let no occasion pass when the utterance of 
positive words might hold all to the task which 
was great, or help toward what he felt to be 
the only possible consummation of the war — 
the abolition of slavery. 

As chaplain of the House of Representa- 
tives, Mr. Channing considered himself leader 
in the People's Church with no hint of sec- 
tarianism. Noted men of various denomina- 
tions were asked to officiate there, and true to 
his convictions he made the daring innovation 
of asking a colored minister to speak on one 
occasion, and a woman on another. The lat- 
ter was Rachel Howland, "the beautiful 
Quaker." 

His ministrations to the soldiers were not in 
hospitals only. He was present at the battle 
of Fredericksburg, and there after a day of 
carnage baptized a dying boy who wished the 
rite, and performed the last service for num- 
bers of hurriedly buried dead. 

[67] 



CHURCH IN THE CIVIL WAR 

At the end of the war and after the death 
of Lincoln, worn in mind and body Mr. Chan- 
ning decided to return to England. Great 
preacher that he was, he was not suited to par- 
ish routine nor the work of gathering together 
a scattered charge. His family was com- 
pletely anglicized and held a place deserv- 
edly in the ranks of the most cultivated. His 
son, Francis Allston Channing, graduated 
from Oxford with honors. He was a member 
of the House of Commons from 1885 to 1910. 
In 1912 he was made first Baron Channing of 
Wellingborough, and is known according 
to the English custom as Francis Allston, 
Lord Channing. One of the daughters of the 
Rev. William H. Channing married Edwin 
Arnold, author of The Light of Asia. The re- 
mainder of Mr. Channing's life was passed 
most congenially in England. He never lost 
interest in new phases of religious experience, 
and his religious affinities were bounded on one 
side by Martineau and on the other by Car- 
dinal Manning. He made frequent visits to 
America, but he died in England in October, 
1884. 

The First Church building was in the pos- 
session of the government for six months, as 
is shown in a circular issued by the Commit- 
[68] 



A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM 

tee of Management for the year 1863, which 
said: "The Unitarian Church will be re- 
opened for religious service next Sunday, Feb- 
ruary 1st," and also, "Earnestly as we shall 
always rejoice to remember that in a time of 
national calamity our House of Worship was 
offered and accepted as a home for sick and 
wounded soldiers, yet it will be with the deep- 
est gratification that we shall return after six 
months' exile to a sanctuary made dearer than 
ever by deeds of charity in which it has been the 
privilege of many of our friends and members 
to participate." While as a body the congre- 
gation gave their church to the government, 
as individuals in several instances they made 
their own houses into hospitals and convales- 
cent homes, or entered upon the work of nurs- 
ing under the Sanitary Commission. 

The Johnson-Donaldson home at 506 
Twelfth Street N. W. and the hospital at 
Twelfth and E Streets fitted up and managed 
by these ladies were long held in grateful re- 
membrance by men who had there experienced 
the kindly ministrations of the patriotic own- 
ers. 

One church member was left in charge of the 
savings of a soldier when he returned to the 
front after a time of convalescence in her home. 
[69] 



CHURCH IN THE CIVIL WAR 

At the close of the war, every effort was made 
to find the man or to learn his fate, but with 
no success. In the course of time, the money 
was made the nucleus of a Unitarian mission 
fund by the lady with whom it had been left. 
With additions secured by her untiring devo- 
tion during life, and by her will at death, 
it now constitutes the Rebecca Wallace 
Unity Mission Fund. 

Mr. and Mrs. George A. Bacon were co- 
workers with their friend, Walt Whitman, in 
the hospitals. 

Mrs. Lucy A. Doolittle was a hospital visi- 
tor under the Sanitary Commission during the 
war. Later, when the retreating tide of war 
left Washington strewn with the human flot- 
sam and jetsam of two armies, she rendered 
an equally valuable service. It was largely 
due to her exposition of conditions which her 
work among these unfortunates revealed to her 
that a police court was established whereby 
they might obtain prompt and just treatment. 
It is a rather significant coincidence that the 
church in which she worshipped should later 
be the place of its dispensation. 

One of the most efficient nurses and man- 
agers during the Civil War was Miss Amy 
Bradley. Her work is comparable to that of 
[70] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



Dorothea Dix, being on a large scale. She 
was stationed on the transport boats which 
brought the wounded from the battlefields in 
the Peninsular campaign. From 1862 until 
the end of the war she was in charge of a con- 
valescent camp at Alexandria, Virginia. In 
her last years Miss Bradley made her home in 
Washington, where she had many friends, and 
was one of the congregation of All Souls. 

Captain Frank E. Brownell, who in the 
very first days of the war of secession avenged 
the murder of his Colonel, Elmer Ellsworth, 
in Alexandria, was in after years a member 
of the congregation of All Souls. At his 
death he made the church a bequest for char- 
ities. 



[71] 



CHAPTER VII 



RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD 

At the close of the four years of civil war, 
the Unitarian Society was exhausted, divided 
and scattered. Yet the new life which began 
soon thereafter to invigorate the nation was 
not without effect upon it, and after a while 
the society also began to respond to the time- 
spirit. The ministries of Sharman and Hinck- 
ley, with many temporary supplies, filled the 
years from 1867 to 1877. 

For six months of the year 1865, the Rev. 
Rufus P. Stebbins was associated with the 
First Church as its minister. He was a man 
of decided personality and it may be assumed 
that the time of his service was not a dull one 
for those who listened to his preaching or met 
him in society. Of himself in his first settle- 
ment, he once said: "I was fresh from the 
seclusion of student life, ablaze with enthu- 
siasm, flaming with zeal to correct all evils. I 
was restless, aggressive, belligerent.' ' Time 
and experience may have tempered these char- 
[72] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



acteristics but did not obliterate them. At the 
time he preached in Washington, he was fifty- 
seven years old. Harvard had lately given 
him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He 
had been President of Meadville Theological 
School twelve years. After his short service 
here, he was made President of the American 
Unitarian Association. He was six years at 
Ithaca, New York, and at a time when most 
men wish to retire from active life he reorgan- 
ized the church of Newton Center, Massachu- 
setts. He died in Cambridge in 1885. His 
cousin, Horatio Stebbins, wrote of him: "He 
delighted in the Commandments and his hon- 
est, indignant soul would have liked it better 
if there had been three or four more." Dr. 
Shippen said of him: "God was to him no vi- 
sionary abstraction but a living presence clearly 
seen in human history and life; his law run- 
ning its line through earth and eternity. His 
religion was no mere theory of the pulpit but 
a vital experience — a principle of duty solid 
as the granite." 

The Rev. William Sharman was an English- 
man, educated at Sheffield for the Methodist 
ministry. After becoming a Unitarian, and 
before he came to America, he was located at 
Aberdeen, Scotland. He was with the Wash- 
[73] 



RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD 

ington church during the years from 1868 to 
1870. As in other instances, the records of 
the First Church afford very little information 
as to the minister at this time. Mr. Sharman 
held other short pastorates in America, and 
was for a time engaged in business in Texas. 
He returned to England in the seventies and 
preached at Plymouth and at Preston. He 
died at the latter place in 1889. While in 
Washington, Mr. Sharman was unmarried. 
In 1873 he married, in New York City, the 
lady — Miss Sophia Jackson Russell — who sur- 
vived him until the spring of 1921. Of them 
both, the London Inquirer of May 7, 1921, 
said: "Mr. Sharman will be remembered by 
our older readers as keenly interested in social 
reform and a powerful preacher, while tender 
memories gather about the name of her who 
has now joined him after her long widowhood.' ' 
Mr. W. C. Russell, of the Philadelphia Re- 
cord, whose brother-in-law he was, writes of 
Mr. Sharman: "He was a friend and fol- 
lower of William Morris, the poet. He took 
active part in campaigns directed against 
social and religious evils and he had many 
friends in the English Labor party." 

In 1870, the Rev. Frederic Hinckley was 
chosen as minister. He had held pastorates in 
[74] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



various places in New England and in the 
State of New York. He was an able man and 
made many friends in Washington. Soon 
after Mr. Hinckley's settlement with the First 
Church, the matter of a better building began 
to be seriously considered by both the Wash- 
ington organization and the American Uni- 
tarian Association. There was some discus- 
sion of the question in the Christian Register. 
At the Conference of 1872, Mr. Hinckley 
made a proposition to the denomination, which 
was presumably the expression of the will of 
the Washington congregation. He said that 
the people would sell the old church, and raise 
what they could besides what the building 
would bring, if the Association would contrib- 
ute $50,000. With the money thus obtained, 
they would build a church which the Associa- 
tion should hold in its own right, giving Wash- 
ington people its use under such regulations 
and conditions as might be adopted. As usual, 
the point was made that Washington was 
a missionary field. It was a place not for 
gathering but for scattering; not for accumu- 
lation but for diffusion. The motion by means 
of which the matter was presented called forth 
many remarks. The report of the day's pro- 
ceedings is interesting and enlightening. 
[751 



RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD 

Every one acknowledged the need of a larger 
and better building. Very plain statements 
were made as to the unattractiveness, not to 
say positive meanness, of the little church 
which in 1822 had seemed so suitable. Thus 
has church history repeated itself to the third 
generation in Washington. One speaker 
spurned any idea of a fine national church, as 
it would probably be a stone elephant on the 
hands of the denomination. Others would 
consent to no help for a church to be managed 
by local Unitarians. A weighty consideration 
in the mind of one speaker was the possible 
early removal of the Capital to a more nearly 
central part of the country. In such event, a 
fine church would be sacrificed. Among them 
all, one had the discernment which led him 
to say that what was needed was a good church 
building and continuous pastoral supervision 
of the Society. Nothing resulted from this 
discussion and the Washington church settled 
down to make the best of what it had and to 
try to become self-sustaining. The united ef- 
forts of the congregation toward this end 
would seem to have developed a strong social 
bond which made the time memorable. Such 
is the verdict of some of those yet remaining 
from those days. But in these years occurred 
[761 



A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM 



a schism in the church, which resulted for a 
time in two congregations. What its cause or 
nature was is now hard to determine, if indeed 
it be worth while to try to do so. In spite of the 
fact that mistakes probably were made and in- 
justice possibly was done, it is for the church 
of today to be grateful that out of disunion has 
come union. Whatever the differences were, 
whether of belief or administration, they were 
overcome by the permanent withdrawal of some 
members and the return of others after the re- 
organization of the church in 1877. 



[77] 



CHAPTER VIII 



ALL SOULS CHURCH 

By the early seventies, the growth of the 
capital city had rendered the location as well 
as the building of the First Church undesir- 
able, and the possibility of removal to a spot 
farther from the center of the city's activities 
began to be considered. With the help of the 
denomination at large and of the American 
Unitarian Association, such removal was 
brought about and on June 27, 1877, the cor- 
ner stone of a new church building was laid 
at the southeast corner of Fourteenth and L 
Streets, eight squares west and seven north of 
the first location. There was objection on the 
part of some members because of the remote- 
ness of this location. The estimated cost of 
the church and lot was sixty thousand dollars, 
of which one-half was to be furnished by the 
Washington Society and one-half by the 
American Unitarian Association. The denom- 
ination was appealed to for money for the pur- 
pose and nearly twenty-five thousand dollars 
[78] 



All Souls Church, 1877 
Fourteenth and L Streets, N. W. 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



was pledged by church delegates present at the 
Unitarian Conference at Saratoga, New York, 
in September, 1876. From its treasury the 
American Unitarian Association completed the 
$25,000 and from the Winn Bequest, made to 
the denomination about that time, its trustees 
allowed ten thousand dollars to the Washing- 
ton project. The amount to be raised by the 
church was thus reduced to twenty-five thou- 
sand dollars, but the mortgage given to the 
American Unitarian Association was for $35,- 
000 instead of $30,000. This mortgage was 
to prevent possible alienation of the church 
from its purpose and to secure it to the Uni- 
tarian denomination. It was unlimited in 
time, drew no interest and was to be held in 
perpetual trust by the Association. It was 
not until July 1, 1880, that the old church was 
sold and the new organization became free 
from debt. 

On June 4, 1877, the First Church reorgan- 
ized under the name of All Souls Church and 
as such it has been known since the dedication 
of the new building on January 29, 1878. 
The sermon on that occasion was delivered by 
Rev. Henry W. Bellows, minister of All Souls 
Church of New York City, a man of national 
fame as president of the United States Sani- 
[ 79] 



ALL SOULS CHURCH 

tary Commission during the Civil War. The 
opening of that sermon proved that Dr. Bel- 
lows, at least, believed that the First Church 
had lived up to Mr. Little's hope for it half a 
century before, since he said: 

' 'If the shining record of the men of influ- 
ence, culture and character ; women of dignity, 
purity, and saintliness, who have witnessed 
their faith in its truth and power, and borne 
the cross of its reputed heresy — if this record 
could be properly read here and now, it would 
prove how great and good is the company al- 
ready translated to which you belong." 

The sermon ended with this petition : 

"May this church stand openly, and while 
its walls shall endure, the church of those who 
honor and practice the widest and most search- 
ing use of God's greatest gift — Reason." 

The installation of the Rev. Clay Mac- 
Cauley as minister took place on January 30, 
1878. After the reorganization of the So- 
ciety, the First Church Building was rented, 
and finally sold to the District Government 
which used it as a police court until it was torn 
down in 1906. 

The last sermon in the First Church was 
preached by Dr. MacCauley on May 27, 1877. 
[80] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

The text was Genesis xii, 7, 8: The Lord 
appeared unto Abraham and said, 'Unto thy 
seed will I give this land' : and there builded he 
an altar unto the Lord. And he removed from 
thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel 
and there he builded an altar unto the Lord." 
Its theme was life's progress from form to 
form. Until the completion of All Souls 
Church, the congregation met in Willard Hall, 
a small building on F Street back of the old 
Willard Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. Mr. 
Seth Hyatt was the only original member of 
the First Church who was living when All 
Souls was built. 

The character of the membership or laity of 
the Unitarian Church did not change when the 
name of All Souls was adopted. The two 
Presidents who attended the First Church, 
John Quincy Adams and Millard Fillmore, 
were succeeded in All Souls Church by Wil- 
liam Howard Taft. 

Cabinet Secretaries Webster, Nathan K. 
Hall and Calhoun have been followed by 
George S. Boutwell, William E. Chandler, 
John D. Long and John W. Weeks. 

In the Senate the First Church was repre- 
sented by Webster, Sumner, Edward Everett 
Hale of New Hampshire, Howe of Wiscon- 
[81] 



ALL SOULS CHURCH 

sin and Fairfield of Maine, while members 
there from All Souls have been Morrill of 
Vermont, George F. Hoar, George C. Moody, 
Anthony, Allison, Pike, William E. Mason, 
Thomas W. Palmer, Burnside, Burrows, 
Fletcher and Townsend. 

In the House of Representatives the two 
churches have had Upham, J. G. Palfrey, 
Davis, Stone, Banks, Ketcham, Baker, Bar- 
rows, Stevens, William Everett, Thomas D. 
Eliot, Hoar, Horr, Hazleton, Roberts, Kent 
and Luce. 

In the judiciary, Associate Justice Joseph 
Story has been followed by Associate Justice 
Samuel F. Miller, while Judge William 
Cranch has had a successor in Judge William 
A. Richardson. The later years of All Souls 
have been honored by the membership of Judge 
Martin A. Knapp. Judicial honor for the 
Unitarian Church culminated in the appoint- 
ment of Chief Justice William Howard 
Taft. 

The historian, George Bancroft, was an at- 
tendant at both churches. 

Dorman B. Eaton, civil service reformer; 
Carroll D. Wright, authority in economics, and 
Lester F. Ward, celebrated in sociology, have 
been more or less active members of All Souls. 
L82.1 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

Mr. Wright served as Chairman of the Board 
of Trustees. Among educators have been 
George J. Abbott, principal of a private 
school, member of the board of trustees of pub- 
lic schools in their earliest days; W. B. Powell, 
Superintendent of Schools, whose name 
appears in the list of church members from 
1886 to 1900, inclusive; and Mrs. Frederic A. 
Holton. Mr. Abbott was confidential secre- 
tary to Daniel Webster when Secretary of 
State in Fillmore's cabinet. Of him his friend, 
Edward Everett Hale, has said: "He was 
one of the men who was ready to help the 
world forward in any way he could, and was 
a distinguished agent in helping it forward 
though his name scarcely ever appears in 
print." Mr. George J. Abbott is commemo- 
rated in the city of Washington by a public 
school building which bears his name. Dr. 
Percival Hall, president of Gallaudet College, 
and Prof. Edward A. Fay, and Prof. C. R. 
Ely of its faculty have been numbered for 
many years among the active members of All 
Souls Church. 

Ainsworth R. Spofford and Bernard R. 
Green have represented the Library of Con- 
gress. 

The scientific world has had most able rep- 
[83] 



ALL SOULS CHURCH 

resentation in both churches by William Fer- 
rel, noted in meteorology; Asaph Hall, well 
known in astronomy; Spencer F. Baird, and 
Charles V. Riley. Living representatives are 
Henry S. Pritchett, Dr. Robert S. Woodward, 
Dr. Wm. H. Dall, Prof. F. W. Clarke and 
Dr. Louis A. Bauer. The list of scientific 
names worthy of mention is too long to be 
given in its entirety. 

From the Navy have come Woodhull, 
Walker, Evans, Schroeder, Wainwright, 
Clark, Taussig (father and son), Deering, 
Hanscom, Cutter, Canaga, Pook, Bright and 
Flint; from the Army, Saxton, Batchelder, 
Smith, Greely, Wood, Baxter, Pelouze, Tan- 
ner, Woodruff and Newcomer. 

Sumner I. Kimball, long prominent in the 
organization and management of the Life Sav- 
ing Service, has been quite as long a member of 
All Souls. 

The Rev. Moncure D. Conway has men- 
tioned as one of his hearers Helen Hunt, wife 
of Captain Edward Hunt, and has spoken of 
her as a bright, vivacious woman, inclined to 
ridicule any one with a mission. Being led by 
great sorrow to a more serious view of life, she 
became the apostle of justice to the American 
Indian. Later she married Mr. W. S. Jack- 
f84] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



son of Colorado Springs, and was well known 
under the nom de plume of "H. H." 

The congregation of All Souls includes 
Miss Alice C. Fletcher, ethnologist, versed in 
Indian lore, whose life has been largely devoted 
to research in the traditions, customs, religions, 
ceremonies and music of the Indian, and to 
practical means of promoting his civilization 
and education. Her worth has been recog- 
nized by the government, which has made her a 
special agent in Indian affairs in several im- 
portant instances. 

For many years the Unitarian congregation 
of Washington contained two men of great 
distinction in national affairs. They were the 
Honorable Justin S. Morrill, of Vermont, and 
the Honorable George F. Hoar, of Massa- 
chusetts. Neither of them took active part 
in the management of the church, but their reg- 
ular attendance at the Sunday services was 
proof of interest and sympathy. Members of 
their families were identified with the affairs 
of the church. 

Mr. Morrill came to Washington as member 
of the House of Representatives in 1855. He 
may have been one of the congregation of the 
First Church. He is known as a member of 
All Souls from its earliest days. He died in 
[85] 



ALL SOULS CHURCH 

Washington in 1898. It may well be a mat- 
ter of pride to future members of All Souls, 
as it is to many of its present members, that 
a man whose name is held in especial honor in 
every State of the Union was so long one of 
the church's devoted adherents. It was ow- 
ing to Mr. Morrill's persistent efforts for sev- 
eral years that the act bearing his name was 
passed by Congress in 1862. That act made 
possible the establishment of State colleges 
which should receive federal aid. Besides the 
Morrill Act which is considered one of the 
epoch-making acts of the American nation, 
Senator Morrill was the author of statutes 
which resulted in the extension of the Capitol 
grounds; the erection of the State, War and 
Navy Building and the Library of Congress. 
Mr. Morrill was a leader in the financial policy 
of the government during the Civil War. 
The dignified presence of this noted man at 
the services of All Souls is a beautiful as well 
as a proud memory for many of her members. 

The genial face of Senator Hoar, as seen 
at the Sunday service of the church, is another 
pleasant memory for many of the people of All 
Souls. Senator Hoar came to Washington in 
1868 and may have been an attendant of the 
First Church. His name is connected with the 
[86] 



A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM 



history of All Souls from 1877. At the meet- 
ing of the Unitarian Conference in Washing- 
ton in October, 1899, Senator Hoar gave the 
address of welcome. This was a notable event 
for the church and the denomination. He 
said then: "I think there can be found in the 
country no sectarianism so narrow, so hide- 
bound, so dogma-clad, that it would like to 
blot out from the history of our country what 
the people of our faith have contributed to it. 
On the first roll of this Washington parish 
will be found close together the names of John 
Quincy Adams and John C. Calhoun. John 
Quincy Adams learned from his father and 
mother the liberal Christian faith which he in 
turn transmitted to his illustrious son. If we 
would blot out Unitarianism from the history 
of the country, we must erase the names of 
many famous statesmen, many famous phi- 
lanthropists, many great reformers, many 
great orators, many famous soldiers from its 
annals, and nearly all of our great poets from 
its literature." 

The Honorable Samuel F. Miller, Associate 
Justice of the Supreme Court from July, 1862, 
until October, 1890, was a gentleman of high 
position who was willing to serve All Souls 
in the capacity of trustee. Justice Miller was 
[87] 



ALL SOULS CHURCH 

a contemporary of Abraham Lincoln and a 
fine example of the typical citizen of that time. 
He was of immense physical stature. He was 
born in Kentucky, but entered the Supreme 
Court from Iowa. He was appointed to the 
bench by President Lincoln. It has been said 
of him that "from the time of taking his seat 
until his death Justice Miller was regarded not 
perhaps as the most enlightened, certainly not 
the most learned, but it is believed as the 
strongest man on the bench and as one who 
united integrity with conviction." Justice 
Miller was three years President of the Amer- 
ican Unitarian Association. He was one of 
the founders of the Unitarian Church of Keo- 
kuk, Iowa. 

The Honorable William E. Chandler was a 
faithful member of the Unitarian Church dur- 
ing his public and private life in Washington. 
In the midst of the affairs that pertain to a 
cabinet Secretary and a Senator, he found 
time to lend his aid in the management of the 
church. 

A coincidence worthy of record in the an- 
nals of All Souls is that the Honorable Wil- 
liam E. Chandler and General A. W. Greely 
have been members of her Board of Trustees. 
In 1884, while Secretary of the Navy, Mr. 
[88] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



Chandler was responsible for the rescue of 
Lieutenant Greely from the perilous Arctic ex- 
pedition he had undertaken two years before. 

Another member of the United States Sen- 
ate who has honored All Souls by his presence 
and his counsel is the Honorable Duncan U. 
Fletcher, of Florida. 



[89] 



CHAPTER IX 



CIYIC AND DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES 

Not all the members of the Unitarian 
Church in Washington have been celebrities. 
There has been as well a sturdy rank and file 
who have given time and work and thought 
without stint, and money as they were able, 
to its proper maintenance and develop- 
ment. 

The church has been fortunate in selecting 
as trustees men and women of executive abil- 
ity, versed in the traditions of Unitarianism, 
and imbued with faith in its future. It has 
been their policy to regulate the financial af- 
fairs of the Society by the rules that govern 
those of secular or commercial institutions. 

With good preaching and sound financing a 
church is well equipped, but it is still necessary 
that the members be ready and quick to follow 
their leaders, or to suggest means and methods 
for efficient promulgation and practice of the 
principles professed. In short, a Unitarian 
church must show by its life in a community 
[90] 




The Reverend Clay MacCauley (1877-1880) 



from painting by Hazard, presented by Dr. MacCauley 
to be hung in the Edward Everett Hale Parish House 



A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM 

that its professions are not vain. Therefore 
this Unitarian church has tried always to be 
engaged in some work for humanity. 

Of systematic charity and philanthropy 
there is a clear record since the beginning of 
All Souls Church. In the partition of duties 
at that time, "benevolent work" was assigned 
to the Ladies' Sewing Society, but would seem 
to have been a little later assumed by the In- 
dustrial School Committee whose reports for 
several years reveal what was done in that line 
by the women of the church. The Industrial 
School had been carried on by the First Church 
for some time as a mission school in George- 
town. On the completion of the new church 
in 1878, it was brought there and re-named 
"The Industrial School." It was really a sew- 
ing school for girls, and some pupils were en- 
abled to gain a living because of the instruc- 
tion received there. The school was given up 
when in 1887 a greater opportunity offered in 
the establishment of a Day Nursery, a Kin- 
dergarten and later a sewing class, at the 
Miner Building in South Washington. 

Members of the First Church had been ac- 
tively interested in Myrtilla Miner and her 
heroic efforts before the Civil War in start- 
ing in Washington a school for colored youth. 
[91] 



DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES 



When the trustees of the Miner Fund, among 
whom were the minister and several members 
of All Souls, bought in South Washington a 
large building with the intention of establish- 
ing there "an educational and industrial insti- 
tution for the colored race," it seemed almost 
imperative that All Souls should help in the 
undertaking. In this they were aided by 
many outside the Unitarian Church. These 
new activities were directed by the Charity 
Committee of the Parish Union rather than 
by the Industrial School Committee. The 
Charity Committee of the Parish Union after- 
ward became the Charity Committee of the 
Church, for several years a standing commit- 
tee. 

In 1891 the Committee extended its work 
by instituting a kindergarten in the Potomac 
School building, also in South Washington. 
This was done with the avowed hope that it 
might furnish an example which the District 
Government would follow in the addition of 
kindergartens to the public school system — 
and the hope was not a vain one. W. B. 
Powell, at that time Superintendent of Schools 
in Washington, was a member of All Souls 
Church who expressed his gratification at this 
[92] " 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



deed and helped the committee always by 
counsel and encouragement. The entire main- 
tenance of the various enterprises at the Miner 
Building was assumed by the trustees of the 
Fund in 1894, leaving the people of All Souls 
free to work elsewhere. 

The next opportunity that offered to the 
Charity Committee was that of supporting one 
of the nurses employed by the Instructive Vis- 
iting Nurse Society, which began operating in 
the District of Columbia in 1900. The 
amount of money necessary was $700 a year 
and the equipment of a 4 'Loan Closet" for use 
of the nurse. After some consideration it was 
decided to make this the future work of the 
committee, as it was felt that in no better way 
could the church become a living presence in 
the community. The funds were soon raised 
and for twenty years the account with the In- 
structive Visiting Nurse Association has been 
an important item in the report of the Treas- 
urer of All Souls. Here again the way of 
duty seemed plain to the committee. The In- 
structive Visiting Nurse Association owed its 
existence largely to the generosity of a mem- 
ber of All Souls and it was fitting that the 
church should be the first to pay an entire sal- 
[93] 



DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES 



ary of a nurse and thus help to secure success 
for a philanthropy whose need and worth were 
most apparent. 

By means of funds coming into its treasury 
from bequests left it for philanthropic pur- 
poses, the church has lately begun the support 
of a Visiting Housekeeper who, under the di- 
rection of the Associated Charities, tries to 
teach better methods of domestic economy to 
those who from lack of such knowledge are 
liable to and often do become dependent upon 
public charity. 

Philanthropy in All Souls has not been lim- 
ited to what may be called these official in- 
stances. Every organization of the church has 
had its own adventures in philanthropy, no- 
tably the Lend-a-Hand Society, which since 
its formation in 1890 has been true to its name 
in all sorts of humanitarian offices. 

Social settlements in Washington have en- 
gaged the active attention of the Women's Al- 
liance more or less for several years. After 
experimenting with one under its own manage- 
ment, it was decided to be better to help a set- 
tlement already established and needing aid 
than to form another. 

Another experiment in social work was a 
mission for boys, located on Fourteenth Street 
[94] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



near Boundary Street. For some time a kin- 
dergarten for colored children was maintained 
in a Lutheran church on Eighth Street. The 
mission received help from different organiza- 
tions of the church, particularly the Twentieth 
Century Club. The kindergarten was under 
the management of the Charity Committee. 

The trustees have contributed to the in- 
dustrial schools at Calhoun, Alabama, and Ma- 
nassas, Virginia. Ministers and members of 
the church have held important positions in the 
management of the latter school. 

The record given would seem to indicate that 
the Unitarian Church has been a not incon- 
siderable asset to the District of Columbia 
since 1877. Its ministers and its members 
have served on the governing boards of many 
of the most important educational, social and 
philanthropic enterprises of the Capital. 
More than this, they have been pioneers in ad- 
vanced methods in all these lines. They were 
leaders in the formation of the Associated 
Charities; the Board of Guardians for De- 
pendent Children; the Reform School for girls; 
the introduction of kindergartens; the Hu- 
mane Society; the Diet Kitchen; the Juvenile 
Protective Association ; as well as the two phi- 
lanthropies specially mentioned. At the pres- 
[95] 



DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES 

ent time the minister is a trustee of Howard 
University and Secretary of the Board of Gal- 
laudet College. One church member serves 
on the Board of Education; another on the 
Board of Management of Columbia Hospital; 
one is President of the Instructive Visiting 
Nurse Association, as well as of the Juvenile 
Protective Association, and member of the 
Board of Charities of the District of Columbia. 
The church is also represented on the Board of 
the Florence Crittenton Mission and on that of 
Friendship House. 

By way of social and intellectual develop- 
ment, there have been established various clubs 
and societies, not all of which have survived. 
One of the first of these was the Unity Club, 
organized in the First Church but for many 
years dissociated from the Unitarian Church. 

Among the later records of the First Church 
are those of the Washington Unitarian Asso- 
ciation, which would seem to have been devoted 
to the promotion of Unitarianism at home 
and abroad. It distributed Unitarian liter- 
ature, arranged lecture courses and sent dele- 
gates to the May meetings. It established, 
and supported for a while, schools for adult 
colored people who had just then come out of 
slavery into citizenship. This Association in 
[96] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

1867 became the Washington Christian Union 
of whose career there is no record. 

As early as 1840 there was a Washington 
Unitarian Tract Association in behalf of whose 
mission Rev. Stephen G. Bulfinch preached a 
sermon. 

The Parish Union was organized in 1877 
to take charge of social and literary enter- 
tainment. The Channing Club was a short- 
lived experiment. 

In 1902 the men of All Souls organized the 
Unitarian Club of Washington. This Club, 
which was local in character, was transformed 
in 1920 into the Washington Chapter of the 
Unitarian Laymen's League which is a Na- 
tional organization. The formation of the 
League Chapter is one of the most important 
events in the history of All Souls Church. 
The stimulus of association with Unitarian lay- 
men throughout the country has created 
greater interest in local and general church 
growth. This has led the chapter to present 
Unitarianism to the Washington public in a 
series of evening meetings addressed by offi- 
cials of the League, by prominent ministers 
and by men of national repute. The Chap- 
ter has a membership of one hundred and 
thirty. 

[97] 



DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES 

Another local branch of a national organiza- 
tion is the Women's Alliance. Organized in 
1892, it has had for its objects the quickening 
of the religious life of the church; the bringing 
of its women into closer acquaintance, co-op- 
eration and fellowship and the promotion of 
missionary and denominational work. Its 
degree of success in the attainment of these ob- 
jects is indicated by a membership of nearly 
three hundred ; its substantial support of most 
of the enterprises of the national body, as well 
as its unwearied devotion for several years to 
the building of a new Church and Parish 
House and the furnishing of the latter. To- 
ward this it has contributed more than $15,000 
and has pledged $10,000 to the campaign fund 
of 1920. Through its Post Office Mission, 
its lines have gone out literally to the ends of 
the earth, but this is a distinction common to 
other Alliances. 

The Liberal Religious Union is also a 
branch of a national body. For many years 
the only expression of Unitarianism in Wash- 
ington during the summer months was through 
this Union. 

To the proper conduct of a Sunday School 
the church has given considerable attention, 
which has resulted in the adoption of a graded 
[98] 



A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM 

course of study from kindergarten up to ma- 
ture years. 

The social needs of younger members have 
not been overlooked and L 'Allegro Club takes 
care of these. A Boy Scout Troop, Number 
42, under the Washington Council, is regis- 
tered as connected with All Souls Church. 

In 1890 a group of women belonging to 
All Souls Church organized a Club. They 
named it the Twentieth Century Club, and 
as such it was incorporated on June 5, 1890. 
Its object, as stated in the articles of incor- 
poration, was "to promote benevolence," which 
was quite broad enough to include that given 
in the preamble to its constitution, viz. : "The 
promotion of liberal thought and philanthropic 
work in its broad sense." For a few years 
such work was done in connection with the 
Charity Committee of the church. Post Office 
Mission work in Washington originated in this 
Club, but upon the formation of the Women's 
Alliance in 1892 it was given over to that so- 
ciety. From the year 1896, the Twentieth 
Century Club has pursued its own course, 
which has been a very successful one. Mem- 
bership in the Club was never limited to Uni- 
tarians. For that reason, and because there 
was no other organization of the sort in Wash- 
[99] 



DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES 

ington, the Club has attracted many of the 
most intelligent women of the city, besides 
those found in All Souls Church, with the re- 
sult that it has developed into a well organized 
body of women, alive to the higher interests 
of humanity, actively promoting those inter- 
ests in the Capital of the Nation. 

Until the year 1911, the President of the 
Twentieth Century Club was a member of All 
Souls Church, as were most of the other offi- 
cers. In the election of that year this prece- 
dent was not followed, nor has it been since. 
So great has been the Club's attraction, and 
so generous has been its management in 
admission to membership, that the anomalous 
condition has arisen — of a church auxiliary 
with a majority of its members entirely unre- 
lated to that church. This fact renders the 
connection between the Twentieth Century 
Club and All Souls Church a purely nominal 
one at present. Yet the fact remains that but 
for the Church the Club would not have ex- 
isted and therefore its history may rightfully 
be related in that of the first hundred years of 
the Unitarian Church, and its formation may 
be proudly noted as an important event in 
that history. To have been the means of es- 
tablishing here a club which in the year 1922 
[100] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



has an enrollment of nearly four hundred 
women of varied interests, yet all tending to 
the increase of the knowledge and culture of 
individuals, and to the benefit of society, is not 
the least of the ways in which the Unitarian 
Church has contributed to the welfare of the 
community. 1 

The esthetic sense of the church has always 
demanded good music as essential in the sat- 
isfactory conduct of religious services. It is 
said that on the dedication day of the First 
Church the music was a great surprise to the 
audience because of its excellence. It was 
conducted by Philip Mauro, who is mentioned 
as one of the members of the First Church, 
and the singers were mostly from the congre- 
gation. Of this voluntary choir the records 
say: 

"The choir has been sustained most success- 
fully not only in our opinion but also in that 
of numerous visitors to our metropolis through 
a long course of years by the free, hearty and 
efficient services of a few devoted persons." 

Judge Cranch and Miss Seaton are es- 
pecially mentioned. Even the critical John 

i On January 5, 1922, the Club in revising its constitution 
voted to omit the clause which stated its relation to All Souls 
Unitarian Church. 

[ioi] 



DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES 

Quincy Adams had a good word to say for 
the music on the occasion of "the funeral of 
John Law when Tope's Dying Christian to 
his SouT was given with organ accompaniment 
with much effect." The standard then set has 
been well maintained and the choir of All 
Souls has always comprised some of the best 
musical talent of the city. The voluntary 
choir was given up with the old church. Mr. 
Hitz, a member of the First Church, left a 
bequest of $1000 for providing suitable music. 
This was used toward paying for the organ 
of All Souls. 

The organ in the new All Souls Church will 
be a gift in memory of Bernard Richardson 
Green, from Mrs. Green and family. For 
many years an active member of the church, 
Mr. Green served it as Secretary, Superinten- 
dent of Sunday School, and as Trustee. He 
was many times Chairman of the Board of 
Trustees. Mr. Green believed that the stand- 
ard of All Souls should be of the highest in 
every respect and to this end he gave it the 
benefit of a practical mind and correct taste 
whenever called to any of its offices. He was a 
lover of fine music and always wished that of 
All Souls to be the best obtainable. The or- 
[102] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANXSM 



gan will be a fitting memorial to him from 
those who loved him best, and a beautiful gift 
to the church which was honored by his faithful 
care for many years. Mr. Green was a civil 
engineer by profession. He superintended 
the construction of several of the notable 
buildings of the Capital. Among these were 
the State, War and Navy Building, the Li- 
brary of Congress, the Washington Public 
Library and the National Museum. The Li- 
brary of Congress was at first under the direc- 
tion of General Thomas L. Casey, with whom 
Mr. Green had been associated in operations 
by the government in the harbors 'of Portland, 
Maine, and Boston, Massachusetts. At the 
time of General Casey's death, while the Li- 
brary of Congress was building, Mr. Green 
was given entire charge of its construction by 
Act of Congress. His name is closely con- 
nected with the history of the Washington 
Monument. He was the originator of the 
method used in strengthening the foundations 
of the Monument when its erection was re- 
sumed after the Civil War. He also designed 
the marble pyramidion which caps the summit 
of the great shaft. Mr. Green was a member 
of All Souls from the time of his coming to 
[103] 



DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES 

Washington in the spring of 1877 until his 
death in 1914. He was a masterful man and 
left an indelible impression upon the minds of 
those who were associated with him. 



[104] 



CHAPTER X 



HEIRLOOMS 

An historic church needs some relics or heir- 
looms to complete its interest. The Unitar- 
ian Church is not lacking in this respect. The 
best known of these is the church bell. It was 
cast by Joseph W. Revere, son of Paul Revere. 
In a letter to Charles Bulfinch, written from 
Boston in September, 1821, Mr. Revere said: 
"A bell suitable for the church in Washington 
ought to weigh one thousand or twelve hun- 
dred pounds. If you shall employ me to 
make a bell for your church, I will cast as good 
an one as possible. It shall be subject to the 
examination of such persons as you shall see 
fit to appoint here. If it should not please 
them, another shall be cast without any ex- 
pense to you whatever. The price will be .40 
p. lb. and it will be warranted with suitable 
usage, for one year." This letter was in reply 
to one from Charles Bulfinch dated August 
17, 1821. That was a very early date in the 
[105] 



HEIRLOOMS 

history of the church and shows Mr. Bulfinch's 
foresight as to the details of the building then 
hardly on paper. The early purchase of the 
bell was probably brought about by an acci- 
dent. What the architect had considered an 
accessory to the new building, needful for reli- 
gious purposes, a destructive fire in the neigh- 
borhood revealed as a valuable public utility. 
A report made by George S. Bulfinch and 
George W. May to the Committee on Man- 
agement on Sunday, July 7, 1822 — one 
month after the dedication of the church — 
stated that "immediately after the late destruc- 
tive fire had occurred, they in consequence of 
the obvious necessity of procuring a bell of 
sufficient size and power to alarm the citizens 
on similar occasions, voluntarily undertook to 
collect subscriptions from their fellow citizens 
generally for the purpose of purchasing such 
bell to be hung in the new Unitarian Church at 
the corner of D and Sixth Streets. They feel 
much pleasure in being able to announce to 
the Committee that the object has been favored 
by their fellow citizens and that it has received 
the liberal aid of the President of the United 
States. They would observe, however, that 
the aid last mentioned has been given condi- 
tionally, viz. : 'provided a bell of about 900 lbs. 
[106] 



HYMNS, 

SELECTED FROM VARIOUS AUTHORS, 



rOE THE USE OF THE 



UNITARIAN CHURCH 



WASHINGTON 



" Giving thanks unto the Father," Paul. 

" This is life eternal; that they might know thee, 
the only true god, and Jesm* Christ, whom thon 
hast sent." John IT, J. 



WASHINGTON ! 

Printed by JV, Cooper. 



1 8:21 



Facsimile of title page of Mr. Little's Hymn Book 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

in weight should not be procured previous to 
the 1st of January, 1823, then that the under- 
signed shall refund the sum so advanced, to 
wit, $100,' — and that the undersigned have be- 
come bound to the government to that effect. 
They further report that the amount of their 
subscription list, including the contribution of 
the President, is $419 and they now offer said 
funds to the Committee to be applied to said 
purpose under the limitations and conditions 
herein mentioned." At that time the Presi- 
dent of the United States was James Monroe. 
Dr. Shippen has said of the bell: 

"Down to 1861 it was rung for public pur- 
poses. I am informed that it tolled a requiem 
for John Brown on the day of his death 
[Dec. 2, 1859]. Thenceforward it was de- 
nounced by some as an abolition bell and in the 
exciting time of 1861 its use by the city au- 
thorities was discontinued." 

In 1909 it was found necessary to change the 
action of the hammer, as the side of the bell 
upon which it had struck for ninety years had 
grown dangerously thin. Mr. Revere had 
warranted it for one year, with suitable usage. 

The communion service is also of interest 
and value. The flagon, which bears the name 
of Revere as maker, is thus inscribed: 
[107] 



HEIRLOOMS 



"Presented by the Society in Hollis Street, 
Boston, to Charles Bulfinch as a testimony of 
their grateful acknowledgment for the elegant 
plans furnished them for their Meeting House 
and for the unwearied care in the execution.' ' 

Reverse : 

"1787. Presented to the First Unitarian 
Church, 

Washington, 
By 

Charles and Hannah Bulfinch 
June 1830." 

The plates of the service were given by Mrs. 
W. D. Stroud, and are made from silver used 
in the family of her aunts, Mrs. Nancy M. 
Johnson and Miss Mary Donaldson, "as a 
memorial of their faithful devotion to the lib- 
eral faith and of their interest and share in 
promoting its growth in this community." 
Upon the occasion of their first use, Easter 
Sunday, April 17, 1892, after some commem- 
orative remarks, Dr. Shippen read letters re- 
ceived from former pastors from which ex- 
tracts are made. 

Rev. Joseph H. Allen said: 

"I am glad that the memory of our dear, 
kind old friends, Mrs. Johnson and Miss Don- 
aldson, is to be so fitly and pleasantly pre- 
[108] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



served. A church is greatly privileged which 
has such lives to record among its many and 
rich memories of the just made perfect." 

Of them Moncure D. Conway wrote: 

"Since the beloved Teacher, many good 
women have given their bread to flesh and 
blood for the higher humanity, but I have 
known none more faithful and large hearted in 
such service than Mrs. Johnson and Miss Don- 
aldson." 

Frederick Douglass said: 

"None better knew than they, that justice 
and mercy to the oppressed is the true cross 
of Christ of the present day — and this cross 
they nobly bore through a long life. Let them 
be remembered in the Church of All Souls — 
with Him who took His place among the lowly 
and went about doing good." 

Dr. Shippen said: 

"Loyal supporters of the Unitarian Church 
and faith through life, their house was the 
hospitable home for all workers for freedom 
and humanity. Widely known, respected and 
beloved, their table has often been one of high 
spiritual communion and their names and 
memory are fragrant and precious." 

The individual cups were the gift in 1916 
of the organist of the church, Mr. Lewis Corn- 
[109] 



HEIRLOOMS 

ing Atwater, in memory of his mother, Ada 
Corning Atwater. 

The pulpit of the First Church was placed 
in the chapel of All Souls. 

The baptismal font in All Souls was given 
by Miss Alice Adams, and the pulpit Bible by 
Mrs. George Deering. 

Memorial windows were presented by de- 
scendants of early families. Others placed 
memorial tablets on the walls. Mrs. Emma 
W. Fuller of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a 
grand-daughter of Robert Little, presented to 
the church in 1911 a manuscript book of serv- 
ices and prayers written by him. Some time 
afterward she sent to the church an account 
book which was owned and used by Mr. Little. 
This book contains a list of the contributors to 
the building fund of the First Church. 

The church also possesses through the kind- 
ness of Mr. James F. Hood, many years a 
trustee, an original of its own first hymn-book, 
herein before mentioned; bearing the title: 
"hymns, Selected from Various Authors, 
for the Use of the unitarian church in 
Washington. Printed by W. Cooper, 1821. " 
The little volume is 5y 2 x 3% inches, and con- 
tains one hundred and one hymns. It is 
[110] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



in excellent preservation and is of such ex- 
cessive rarity that it may be unique. Other 
gifts from Mr. Hood are "A sermon preached 
before the Unitarian Society in the City of 
Washington on Sunday, July 15, 1821, by 
Robert Little"; a bound volume of eight 
discourses delivered to the Society by Mr. 
Little on various dates from October 7, 1821, 
to July 4, 1824, two of them spoken in the 
hall of the House of Representatives; "A 
sermon on Making Good Resolutions, deliv- 
ered in the Unitarian Church, Washington 
City, January 1, 1832, by the Pastor" (Rev. 
Cazneau Palfrey) ; a small framed engraving, 
from copper, of the "Unitarian Church, Wash- 
ington, published by Sherwood, Neely and 
Jones, London, January 1, 1823," and another 
engraving somewhat larger, also from copper, 
"View in Washington City, first unitarian 
church, City Hall in the distance," undated, 
but printed about the year 1825. 

The silver trowel, suitably inscribed, used by 
President Taft at the laying of the corner 
stone of the Church designed to be built on 
Sixteenth Street, was furnished for the oc- 
casion by Mr. Hood and has been added to 
the heirlooms of the Society. 

cm] * 



CHAPTER XI 



NATIONAL ADHERENTS 

The Unitarian Church of Washington has 
been proud and rightly so, of the fact that 
three such celebrated men as John Quincy 
Adams, Millard Fillmore and John C. Cal- 
houn have been her adherents. To find these 
names counted among those of the regular at- 
tendants of an orthodox church of the Capital 
is somewhat disconcerting to the enthusiastic 
but not well-informed devotee, while to the 
impartial seeker for information it is mislead- 
ing if stated without explanation. During the 
presidential campaign of 1908, wherein the 
successful candidate was a Unitarian, the as- 
sertion was made in a local paper and prob- 
ably in others, that "while there have been 
Unitarian presidents there is no record of any 
president's having attended the Unitarian 
Church," and that "there is no assertion that 
the later Adams and Millard Fillmore at- 
[112] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

tended the church after its establishment in 
1821." 

Concerning Mr. Adams, this statement 
would seem to be refuted by the following pas- 
sage from the Diary of that gentleman. Not- 
ing therein the death of Rev. Robert Little in 
1827, Mr. Adams said: 

"This is a fact greatly to be lamented by his 
congregation of whom I was one. I had con- 
stantly attended on his ministrations for the 
last seven years." 

Associate Justice Joseph Story, writing of 
a special occasion at the First Church, refer- 
ring to President J. Q. Adams, said: 

"The President attended and indeed he gen- 
erally attends this church." 

That J ohn Quincy Adams was a regular at- 
tendant at the church from its beginning to 
the end of his life is without doubt. When 
Mr. Little visited Massachusetts on his trip 
soliciting funds for building the church, he 
wrote home: 

"I had a very pleasant interview with Presi- 
dent Adams [Ex-president John Adams] at 
Quincy last week and he seems much pleased 
with his son's attachment to our Society." 
[113] 



NATIONAL ADHERENTS 

The Rev. Joseph Henry Allen, minister of 
the First Unitarian Church at the time of Mr. 
Adams' death, in a memorial sermon to him on 
February 27, 1848, said: 

"We fondly remember how but a few weeks 
since neither age nor feebleness, nor storm, nor 
darkness, detained him from his accustomed 
place on the Lord's day." 

From his Diary, one learns that Mr. Adams 
often attended the afternoon service at St. 
John's, and that he also attended the Presby- 
terian Church. Mr. Adams was essentially 
devout, but a lover of argument as well, and 
frequent churchgoing may have been neces- 
sary to him for mental stimulus as well as for 
spiritual comfort. He was a daily reader of 
the Bible and confessed that he had tried hard 
to believe the doctrine of the trinity, because 
certain passages in the New Testament 
seemed to countenance it. But his caustic 
comments on a sermon on that subject which 
he heard at St. John's in 1839, indicate very 
clearly the conclusion at which he had arrived 
in regard to the matter. The peculiar tenets 
of Calvinism were no less mercilessly criticised 
by him in writing of a sermon he heard in the 
Presbyterian Church, December 3, 1837 — both 
[114] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

dates later than his presidency. Mr. Adams 
was also critical of sermons he heard from Mr. 
Little and charged him on one occasion with 
not having respect enough for his text. The 
sermon was on miracles and was delivered 
November 12, 1826. He speaks in his auto- 
biography also of the fact of Mr. Little's ob- 
jection to the baptism of children as "one of 
Mr. Little's great errors." This was apropos 
of his having attended the First Church when 
Mr. Mott baptized several children. 

Mr. Adams resented unjust or flippant crit- 
icism of Unitarians, as is amusingly shown in 
his treatment of Mr. Tazewell of Virginia. 
That gentleman, when dining with Mr. 
Adams, remarked that Tokay and Rhenish 
wine tasted exactly alike; whereupon his host 
asserted that he did not believe that Mr. Taze- 
well had ever tasted a drop of genuine Tokay 
wine. But Mr. Adams was so troubled over 
his rudeness to a guest, that he sent Mr. Taze- 
well a note of apology. Recording the inci- 
dent in his journal he said: 

"X was moved to speak as I did because Mr. 
Tazewell had said that he never knew a Uni- 
tarian who did not believe in the Sea Serpent." 



When in Congress and while Vice-Presi- 
[115] 



NATIONAL ADHERENTS 

dent, Millard Fillmore retained and paid for 
a pew in the First Church. Upon his succes- 
sion to the presidency, and after the settle- 
ment of his invalid wife and family in the 
White House, he accepted the offer made him 
by St. John's Church of a pew there, as he 
said, because of its nearness to his home and 
greater convenience for his family. Whether 
this action was the courtesy to fashion that is 
sometimes made by those in high places, or was 
the result of political wounds received in the 
house of his friends, cannot here be stated, 
but it probably was taken as he said for the 
convenience of his family. Mr. Fillmore's 
Unitarianism was of too long standing to be 
impeached by, nor did his attendance at the 
First Church cease with, his acceptance else- 
where, as is indicated in a letter written by 
him. 

The fact that John C. Calhoun was also an 
attendant at St. John's might seem to nullify 
the claim which the Unitarian Church makes 
upon him. His biographer, Mr. Gaillard 
Hunt, says: 

"Unitarianism attracted him as it did many 
of the public men of his day; he contributed 
to the erection of the First Unitarian Church 
in Washington and had a pew there. Not- 
[116] 



A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM 

withstanding this, he commonly attended the 
Episcopal Church of which his wife was a 
member. He was raised in the Presbyterian 
Church." 

The Seaton biographical sketch speaks of 
him as "a warm friend and consistent adherent 
of Unitarianism." 

Chief Justice John Marshall is sometimes 
included in the number of celebrated men who 
were connected with the First Unitarian 
Church of Washington. He is generally 
claimed as a Unitarian by the denomination. 
His biographer, Mr. Albert J. Beveridge, 
says: "The evidence as to his own views and 
feelings on the subject of religion, although 
scanty, is definite. He was a Unitarian in 
belief and therefore never became a member of 
the Episcopal Church, to which his parents, 
wife, children, and all other relatives be- 
longed." Associate Justice Story, who was a 
Unitarian and an interested attendant of the 
First Church, said in his eulogy of the great 
jurist: "Among Christian sects, he person- 
ally attached himself to the Episcopal Church. 
It was the religion of his early education and 
became afterwards that of his choice. But he 
was without the slightest touch of bigotry or 
intolerance." 

[117] 



NATIONAL ADHERENTS 

The founders of the First Unitarian Church 
were very careful to make known the fact that 
the organization was to be congregational. 
In an account book kept by Mr. Little, the 
list of contributors is headed by the statement 
that the money is given for "the establishment 
of a church on the principles of a resolution 
taken from the minutes of the Society, viz.: 
'Sep. 1820. Resolved that it is the intention 
of this meeting that in the church proposed to 
be erected for Unitarian worship in this city 
the government and order of the Society shall 
be strictly congregational, the Pastor and 
officers chosen by the people and all commit- 
tees of management elected only for limited 
periods and for specific purposes.' " 

This list of subscribers carries first the name 
of Thomas Law, who gave the largest amount 
noted, viz.: one hundred and fifty dollars. 
Mr. Law was an eccentric Englishman of very 
broad religious ideas who, with his brother 
John, had become a citizen of the new republic. 
John Law was also a generous contributor. 
His name occurs again among the first pew 
owners. 

A name not heretofore mentioned as a con- 
tributor is that of William H. Crawford, fol- 
lowing those of John Quincy Adams and J ohn 
[118] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



C. Calhoun, with which it makes a trio distin- 
guished in national history. Mr. Crawford had 
served as both Secretary of the Treasury and 
of War in the cabinet of President Madison. 
In 1824 he was a republican candidate for the 
presidency, as were John Quincy Adams and 
Henry Clay with Andrew Jackson in opposi- 
tion. Calhoun was candidate for the vice- 
presidency and was elected, but the presiden- 
tial election was thrown into the House of 
Representatives and Adams was chosen. 

Among the contributors from abroad was 
Amos Lawrence of Boston, whose widely 
known philanthropy did not protect him from 
theological attacks by the orthodox. On one 
such occasion Father Taylor, in reply to the 
statement that a Unitarian could not go to 
heaven, told this story of Amos Lawrence's 
pocketbook. One fold of the book was in- 
scribed, "What shall it profit a man if he gain 
the whole world and lose .his own soul?"; an- 
other, "The gold is mine, said the Lord of 
Hosts," and another, "He that giveth to the 
poor, lendeth to the Lord." Father Taylor 
had asked the reason for these inscriptions and 
Mr. Lawrence had said that as men grow old 
they are apt to grow selfish and he wished to 
be reminded of the great principles of the gos- 
[119] 



NATIONAL ADHERENTS 

pel by which he ought to hold and to use his 
worldly goods. Therefore he kept money in 
these folds for all the good purposes that 
Providence might suggest. 

The names of two other subscribers suggest 
the now and the then of Unitarianism. They 
are Samuel A. Eliot and William Ellery 
Channing. The latter was the first great 
apostle of Unitarianism; the former was the 
grandfather of the present President of the 
American Unitarian Association who bears the 
same name. 

In this list are found the names of Thomas 
and George Bulflnch, as well as that of their 
father, Charles Bulflnch. They were young 
men in business when the family left Boston 
for Washington. Their business was that of 
building materials, which was quite in line with 
their father's profession. Their subscriptions 
were partly if not wholly paid in materials for 
the church building. George Bulflnch inher- 
ited something of his father's talent, but 
Thomas found business irksome and gave it up 
to become a bank clerk in Boston. He was 
able then to devote himself to the things he 
liked best and made himself known as the au- 
thor of "The Age of Fable." This work has 
been the basis of several modern works on 
[120] 



A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM 



mythology. He was appointed secretary of 
the first meeting called to consider the forma- 
tion of a Unitarian society and his signature 
is on the copy of the resolution offered by 
William Eliot on the 31st of July, 1820. 

Mr. Little was very methodical in his ac- 
counts and in his reports to the church. The 
last entry in the little book is not without a 
hint of sentiment. It is: 

"July 12, 1821. The workmen commenced 
digging the foundation for the church. 
August 12th. All the window frames in. 
September 12th. Roof putting on. 
October 23rd. Covered in. 
June 9, 1822. Opened for worship." 

Mr. Little would seem to have had the whole 
affair well in hand and if his plans had met with 
the response which he expected from the church 
and the public much financial trouble would 
have been avoided. As it was, only one-half 
of the subscriptions in Washington were ever 
paid in, and the sale of pews was not so gen- 
eral as he hoped and as was necessary finan- 
cially. 



rial] 



CHAPTER XII 



THE NEW ALL SOULS 

By the year 1909 Unitarian Church history 
began to repeat itself. The congregation was 
aware that in the near future another removal 
to a location more secure from the merciless en- 
croachment of commercialism would be neces- 
sary together with a building larger and bet- 
ter suited to the needs of the organization. 
At the annual meeting of the year, Mr. Ber- 
nard R. Green, Chairman of the Board of 
Trustees, said of the development of the church 
and the limitations of its building: "This 
it has in turn outgrown in the short period 
of about thirty years, keeping pace with the 
modern growth of the city itself and now it 
must burst its bonds and be more adequately 
housed for its third period of advancing 
life." 

It was voted at this time that a committee 
of ten associated with the trustees be appointed 
to consider the question of increased accom- 
modations for the church. On June 2nd this 
[122] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



committee reported that "All Souls Church re- 
quires a new edifice and accessories which make 
a new site necessary." The report was 
adopted. The committee of ten was enlarged 
to thirty to take in charge the matter of a new 
church, the enlarged committee to consist of 
the nine trustees, the ten who had served on the 
committee which had just reported and eleven 
additional members. 

As in 1877, so in 1909, no effective action 
could be taken without the aid and consent of 
the American Unitarian Association. Con- 
sultation with that body resulted in an arrange- 
ment whereby the property at Fourteenth and 
L Streets might be sold and a site elsewhere 
selected and bought. Committees were ap- 
pointed for these purposes and for the collec- 
tion of necessary funds. After consideration 
of several sites, and the selection of one, the 
title of which proved faulty causing its rejec- 
tion, the committee of Thirty secured an op- 
tion of lots 74 to 85 in square 192 on Sixteenth 
Street near R. The American Unitarian As- 
sociation approved the site and the church 
authorized its purchase together with as much 
of lot 73 as might be necessary. This land was 
afterward referred to as lot 104 in square 192. 
There on February 13, 1913 — ominous fig- 
[123] 



THE NEW ALL SOULS 

ures — the cornerstone taken from All Souls 
was relaid by President William Howard 
Taft, as the beginning of a new All Souls 
Church and Edward Everett Hale Parish 
House. Funds in cash and subscriptions to 
the amount of $90,000 were raised. A satis- 
factory plan for the edifice was selected from a 
competition. The lot was paid for, leaving a 
small cash balance, but nothing more was pos- 
sible until the sale of the property at Four- 
teenth and L Streets. Three years of discus- 
sion and effort had passed before this partial 
success was achieved. They had been years of 
special interest otherwise to the people of All 
Souls, as they were included in the presidency 
of Mr. Taft, whose presence at the church serv- 
ices had been very regular. The fact of his 
Unitarianism and his attendance at All Souls 
had been a source of publicity for the church, 
not always exact in statement, but al- 
ways gratifying in the opportunity given 
for making better known to many per- 
sons the faith held in common with this dis- 
tinguished citizen. 

Of the last day of President Taft's atten- 
dance at the church, the minister, the Rev. U. 
G. B. Pierce, said in his annual report of 1913: 
"And Sunday, March 2nd. On that day we 
[124] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

bade sincere and affectionate good-bye to the 
President of the United States who for four 
years had worshipped with us. The service 
was simple and severe — that is our way. An 
address by the President of the Board of Trus- 
tees, the Honorable Duncan U. Fletcher; the 
presentation of the portrait of Mr. Taft by 
Prof. A. W. Spanhoofd on behalf of the Uni- 
tarian Club ; the touching farewell of the Presi- 
dent himself; the singing of Blest be the Tie 
That Binds; the reception by the President 
to the members of All Souls ; the last good-bye 
and salute by the Boy Scouts, our boys, as the 
White House automobile sped away ; it is easy 
to recite all this but it is not easy to say what 
it meant to us and how we remember the occa- 
sion as one about which to tell our children. 
And now we return to normal church life. 
We are thankful that during all these years 
there was no accident or disturbance; and we 
trust that to our honored fellow- worshippers, 
as to us, the memory of those years may be 
without spot or blemish." 

Within a year and a half thereafter, the 
World War made life abnormal for all man- 
kind. Upon the entrance into the war by our 
own government all the interest, energy and 
money of the congregation of All Souls were 
[125] 



THE NEW ALL SOULS 

diverted into patriotic channels and church 
building was necessarily postponed. 

It happened in the course of time that the 
desirability of the site on Sixteenth Street was 
greatly lessened by the erection next it of a 
large apartment house. When an offer of 
$105,000 cash was made for the lots by the 
company building there, it was deemed best to 
accept it and buy elsewhere, always with the 
ratification of the American Unitarian Asso- 
ciation. The corner stone, which was fast be- 
coming a veritable Ark of the Covenant to the 
Unitarian people, was removed from Sixteenth 
Street and returned to Fourteenth and L 
Streets to await developments, the first of 
which was the recommendation in January, 
1920, by the Board of Trustees, that a site for 
the church be bought at Sixteenth and Har- 
vard Streets, consisting of lots 20 to 22 and 
807 to 818 in square 2577. Those members of 
,the church present at the special meeting of 
January 2, 1920, voted that this site be pur- 
chased at a price not exceeding $90,000. The 
vote was sixty in the affirmative to eight in the 
negative. At the same meeting the Trustees 
announced a proposal lately made to them by 
the Buick Motor Company that that company 
would rent the property at Fourteenth and L 
[126] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



Streets for ten years at an annual rental of 
$30,000, provided the church would erect 
thereon a building of design approved by the 
company. It was moved that this be done. 
The motion gave rise to serious discussion. 
The desirability of creating from this property 
a source of future revenue for the church was 
set forth, while in opposition was shown the 
great risk of building in such uncertain and 
abnormal times. The motion was carried by 
a vote of 32 to 27. A committee of three to be 
selected from the Board of Trustees and mem- 
bership at large with the Chairman of the 
Board, Mr. George A. Ricker, as advisory 
member and the Secretary of the Church, Mr. 
Elmer Stewart, as secretary, to consummate 
the proposition, was also authorized. 

Thus in a few moments were the affairs of 
All Souls changed from a state of stagnation 
to one of liveliest activity. The church was to 
be abandoned and torn down. A temporary 
place of worship was to be found. A large 
business building was to be put up at once, and 
a church as soon as possible. Necessary ar- 
rangements between the three parties con- 
cerned, viz.: the Church, the Association and 
the Motor Company, consumed several weeks, 
but by the middle of June, 1920, All Souls 
[127] 



THE NEW ALL SOULS 

Church had become a memory only for those 
who had loved it for years, and in its place 
foundations were laid for an industrial build- 
ing six stories in height. 

The first step toward the building of a new 
church was the selection of an architect. After 
consultation with the American Unitarian 
Association, it was decided that the rules of 
the American Institute of Architects should 
be followed in this selection. The competition 
was limited to six firms or individuals. Prof. 
Warren P. Laird, Head of the Department 
of Architecture of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, acted as architectural adviser for the 
church. It was his duty to prepare the pro- 
gram for the competition. This he did from 
data furnished by the Trustees and the Com- 
mittee, setting forth the needs, the wishes and 
the ideals of the church in regard to its pros- 
pective home. The plan was to include a Par- 
ish House. One stipulation was "That the de- 
sign typify Unitarian ideas and ideals and at 
the same time harmonize with the architecture 
of Washington and fit into the surroundings 
of the chosen site." The completed drawings 
were to be judged by a jury elected by the 
competing architects. The jury elected was 
Cass Gilbert, Henry Bacon and John Wyn- 
[128] 



All Souls Church and Edward Everett Hale Memorial Parish House, 1922. 
(Architects' drawing) 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

koop, all of New York, three of the most dis- 
tinguished architects of the country. 

By decision of the jury, the architect whose 
plans should best meet the given conditions 
would become automatically as it were the ar- 
chitect of the new Unitarian Church of Wash- 
ington. The jury agreed that design No. 5 
best met the conditions stated. This proved to 
be that submitted by the firm of Coolidge and 
Shattuck, of Boston. This design, with some 
modifications, is the plan from which the new 
All Souls Church and Parish House is being 
built. 

In an article published in the Christian Reg- 
ister of September 29, 1921, Mr. George A. 
Ricker, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, 
said: 

"The practical details of the plan have many 
features of interest. The approach to the 
church proper is by a monumental terrace up 
broad flights of steps and through a portico 
with tall Corinthian columns surmounted by a 
pediment, above which rises the graceful spire. 
The auditorium is in the typical Colonial style 
with a barrel-vaulted ceiling supported by col- 
umns. The organ and choir gallery are over 
the entrance vestibule. There are also side 
galleries. The maximum seating capacity 
will be nine hundred and thirty-four, of which 
[129] 



THE NEW ALL SOULS 



number six hundred and sixty-six will be on 
the floor and two hundred and sixty-eight in 
the galleries. 

"Flanking and connecting with the far end 
of the church are wing buildings of two stories 
and basements housing the social and educa- 
tional facilities; the right wing containing an 
assembly-room, with dining-room in the base- 
ment; the left wing, class-rooms and club- 
rooms for men and women, with the boiler and 
storage-rooms in the basement. These two 
wings extend a considerable distance to the 
street back of the church proper, and are 
united by a narrow one-story connecting build- 
ing on the street side, enclosing an open court 
which will have a cloister and garden. This 
cloister and its garden, corresponding to the 
cloister garth of the old churches, will be a 
most charming place for rest as well as a 
centre of interest for social functions whether 
in the afternoon or evening. The basement of 
the main building is planned to house the rec- 
reational activities of the institution, the gym- 
nasium and swimming-pool. A decorative 
fence around the group will enclose other 
spaces on either side of the church proper 
which may be laid out with lawns and plant- 
ing. The group of buildings will be con- 
structed in the Colonial materials, dark red 
brick and light stone." 

On Thursday, September 8, 1921, ground 
[130] 



A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM 



was broken for this building and a little later 
the work of laying its foundation was begun. 

The last service held in All Souls Church at 
Fourteenth and L Streets was on March 14, 
1920. The text of the sermon delivered by 
Dr. Pierce was the same as that chosen by Dr. 
MacCauley when his congregation bade fare- 
well to the First Church: Genesis xii, 7-8. 
He said: 

4 'Built into the very structure of this church, 
pervading its history, animating our very 
spirits, urging on our spiritual life, the great 
stream of life of our fathers still persists; and 
it is not for our righteousness or for any sense 
of power in ourselves, primarily, that we are 
enabled to take up in our day and in our gen- 
eration the work that they did so nobly in 
theirs. And in a peculiar sense we are chil- 
dren of our spiritual parents. 

''What we want is what our fathers wanted 
— a place of worship adequate, not simply to 
some of our needs, but adequate for all our 
growing needs whereby we may serve our com- 
munity and our generation. That is the ideal 
as I understand it — the only ideal that is worth 
while. We would like such a place of worship, 
with its parish house, that those who come to 
Washington and honor us by worshipping 
with us shall not necessarily say it was the big- 
gest thing that ever was, the most gorgeous, or 
the most costly, but that they may feel that 
[131] 



THE NEW ALL SOULS 

here is a sanctuary which, with its emphasis on 
the human end of religion, typifies the simple, 
the straightforward, the practical gospel of the 
Unitarian Church." 

After this sermon, two communications were 
read by the Minister, one expressing the wish, 
if agreeable to the church and congregation, 
"to present to it a communion table as one more 
link between the old church and the new, in 
memory of all those whose lives have been built 
into this church and into whose labors we have 
entered." The other said: "When the new 
church building is erected on the site recently 
purchased at Sixteenth and Harvard Streets, 
I desire the privilege of donating a full and 
complete set of chimes for the belfry as a mem- 
orial to my father." The names of the 
donors were withheld. These offers were ac- 
cepted by a rising vote of the congregation. 
It was also voted, upon motion of the Minis- 
ter, that "the affectionate salutations of this 
church be sent to Dr. MacCauley," sole sur- 
viving Minister of the old church, at Tokyo, 
Japan. 

The sermon was followed by a particularly 
solemn and impressive communion service, 
with which ended the life of the church in its 
home of forty-two years. 

[132] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 

On March 21, 1920, the congregation met in 
the Knickerbocker Theater, at Eighteenth 
Street and Columbia Road, which had been 
generously offered it as a meeting place in- 
definitely by the managers of the theater. 1 
An apartment in the immediate vicinity was 
secured by the trustees for use of the various 
organizations of the church and, thus accom- 
modated, the members have patiently, cheer- 
fully and hopefully waited for the dawn of bet- 
ter times when building operations might be 
begun. That nothing might be lacking on 
their part, they contributed $100,000 to the 
Unitarian Campaign Fund of 1920. 

The one hundredth anniversary of the or- 
ganization of the Unitarian Church of Wash- 
ington, D. C, was celebrated on Sunday, 
November 6, 1921. This anticipated the cen- 
tenary by five days. Sunday was chosen, 
so that all interested might be present. More- 
over, the 11th of November, the exact centen- 

i On the night of Saturday, January 28, 1922, the roof of 
the Knickerbocker Theater collapsed, causing death or injury 
to many persons. Within a few days thereafter the Manager 
of B. F. Keith's Theater, Mr. Roland S. Robbins, extended to 
the congregation of All Souls an invitation to hold its Sun- 
day services there until the new church should be completed. 
This invitation was accepted and the first service there was 
held on February 5, 1922. 

[133] 



THE NEW ALL SOULS 

nial, was to be the day of the ceremonies at- 
tending the burial of the Unknown Soldier at 
Arlington. The service held at the theater 
was largely attended. Addresses were made 
by the Minister, the Rev U. G. B. Pierce; by 
the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr. 
George A. Bicker; by the Bev. Samuel A. 
Eliot, President of the American Unitarian 
Association, and by Chief Justice William 
Howard Taft, President of the Unitarian Con- 
ference. 



[134] 



CHAPTER XIII 



MINISTERS OF ALL SOULS CHURCH 

The ministers of All Souls Church have 
been but four in number: Clay MacCauley, 
Rush R. Shippen, E. Bradford Leavitt and 
Ulysses G. B. Pierce. 

In February, 1877, the Rev. Clay Mac- 
Cauley was asked to serve temporarily as pas- 
tor for the First Church, and in July of that 
year was elected to the position permanently. 
His service dated from September, 1877, to 
September, 1880. The three years included 
between these dates were important ones in 
the history of the church. Mr. MacCauley 
Jhas said that he found in his "new field a de- 
voted but small band of regular attendants at 
the church. In the community, however, a 
considerable number of persons, who had once 
been either active members of the Society or 
its friends, were then holding themselves 
aloof." It seemed to Dr. MacCauley that a 
reorganization of the church with a new sys- 
[135] 



MINISTERS OF ALL SOULS 

tematization of its departments might help in 
the reconciliation of differences and in infus- 
ing new life. This with the sanction of the 
trustees he proceeded to effect. 

He wrote a new constitution, associating 
with it a Bond of Union for church member- 
ship, and made a new grouping of the various 
organizations within the church, "And that the 
mission of the Church might be strongly and 
accurately signalized" he proposed for it the 
name of All Souls Church. 

It was fortunate that such a leader answered 
the call of the church at that time. He 
brought to its service a well-trained mind. He 
had torn away the husks of orthodox dogma 
from the kernel of truth which they conceal, 
and had resolved thereafter to interpret that 
truth after the liberal manner. He was a 
graduate of Princeton, where his course had 
been interrupted by a year of service in the 
Civil War when he suffered wounds and im- 
prisonment. He had spent three years of 
study in Germany. He was born in Cham- 
bersburg, Pennsylvania, and there when a boy 
he heard Frederick Douglass speak, spell- 
bound by that masterful orator. Years after- 
ward Frederick Douglass, in the audience of 
All Souls, often listened to Dr. MacCauley. 
[136] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



The reorganization of the church proved its 
efficiency in enlarged congregations and in- 
creased interest. In May, 1880, Dr. Mac- 
Cauley resigned his position and most of his 
life since then has been spent in Japan, where 
he has served in the Unitarian Mission in To- 
kyo. Of him and his work in Japan, the 
Secretary of the American Unitarian Asso- 
ciation, the Rev. Louis C. Cornish, has said: 

"By his knowledge of Japanese, by his 
J apanese text-books, long and widely used, by 
his position as a broad-minded and public- 
spirited servant of the two countries, Dr. Mac- 
Cauley has slowly gained in Japan a position 
which is unique both for the affection in which 
he is held and the influence he has been able 
to exert. In a recent letter from Ambassa- 
dor Morris, the representative of the United 
States in Japan, to the Governor of the Phil- 
ippines, commenting upon Dr. MacCauley's 
approaching visit to the Islands, he described 
Dr. MacCauley as follows: — 

" 'Dr. MacCauley, of Tokyo, has been for 
many years one of the most loyal and effec- 
tive Americans in Japan. He is a member of 
the American Unitarian Association, and his 
services have been chiefly engaged in the 
spread of liberal Christianity in Japan ; but his 
influence has gone far beyond any limit of 
church or creed, and today he is our most dis- 
[137] 



MINISTERS OF ALL SOULS 



tinguished as well as most liberal fellow-coun- 
tryman here.' " 

Dr. MacCauley has lately returned to 
America after resigning his position in Tokyo. 

The Rev. Rush R. Shippen succeeded Dr. 
MacCauley as minister of All Souls. He had 
been prominent in the affairs of the denomin- 
ation for many years, having served as Secre- 
tary of the American Unitarian Association. 
In that position he had been in close touch with 
the rejuvenation and rehabilitation of the 
Washington church. He had officiated at the 
dedication of All Souls in 1878 and must have 
been welcomed as an old friend when he came 
as minister in 1881. With his pastorate the 
church entered upon a more active life than 
had yet been hers. 

During these years, by arrangement between 
the church and the American Unitarian As- 
sociation, prominent Unitarian ministers were 
heard here in the winter months. 

Dr. Shippen was a man of fine presence, 
and, when called upon for public speaking 
outside the church, always rose to the emer- 
gency and gave distinction to the day. Little 
children loved him. He is vividly and kindly 
remembered by his Washington parishioners 
[138] 



The Reverend Ulysses G. B. Pierce, Minister since 1901. 
Underwood & Underwood, Washington 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



and as a citizen of the District of Columbia 
was known and appreciated. Dr. Shippen 
resigned the pastorate in 1895. 

After a pastorless interval of fourteen 
months, during which the pulpit was supplied 
by ministers from different parts of the coun- 
try, the church called the Rev. E. Bradford 
Leavitt, who was installed January 13, 1897. 
In 1900 Mr. Leavitt resigned his position and 
went to San Francisco, California, as pastor 
of the First Unitarian Church of that city. 
His stay in Washington, though short, left the 
impression of a man of earnest convictions 
which he expressed ably. 

The requirements necessary for a minister 
suitable for the Washington church set forth 
by Associate Justice Story in his letter of the 
early days may never be completely met, but 
they found a very satisfactory fulfillment in 
1901, when the Rev. Ulysses G. B. Pierce 
entered its pulpit. He met a congregation 
ready to help in making the church what its 
founders so earnestly wished it might be, a 
national center from which should radiate the 
truth, the goodness and the beauty of a liberal 
faith. As a guide to this end he has not hesi- 
tated, nor has he chosen a circuitous route. 
Preaching the plain truth, he has avoided ex- 
[139] 



MINISTERS OF ALL SOULS 

travagance of statement or of style. Sensa- 
tionalism has not weakened the force of its 
presentation, and asking the bread of life the 
people have not been given the stone of eco- 
nomic, socialistic or political theory. The 
need of a pure and an applied Christianity 
has been made plain to them and their respon- 
sibility as individuals, and as a church, in help- 
ing to supply this need. The function of re- 
ligion in every possible phase of human life 
has been preached with persistency, in a man- 
ner vigorous and impressive enough to gratify 
a modern audience, and yet not lacking in the 
"engaging suavity" which Associate Justice 
Story thought desirable. 

The pulpit of All Souls during the World 
War was a source of loyalty, of comfort, of 
strength and faith that right would prevail, 
while the daily life of its minister was a suc- 
cession of deeds, private and public, helping to- 
ward the great consummation. Dr. Pierce is 
another of the Unitarian ministers whom 
the legislative department of the government 
has been pleased to call into its service. He 
served the United States Senate as Chaplain 
from 1909 to 1913. In the history of the 
Unitarian Church of Washington, the names 
of William Henry Channing and Ulysses G. 
[140] 



A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM 



B. Pierce will be associated as preachers and as 
leaders in two great national epochs. Of New 
England birth, Dr. Pierce's ministry has led 
him to the Middle West and the Pacific Coast. 
He has been located at Decorah, Iowa, and 
Pomona, California. When called to Wash- 
ington, he was in charge of the church at 
Ithaca, New York. 

The ministry of Dr. Pierce in Washington 
is the longest in the annals of the parish. It 
embraces a little more than one-fifth of the 
century ending November 11, 1921 — twenty 
years and more of hearty co-operation between 
minister and people in the work begun by the 
little band of 1821. The ideal of the early 
days was not lost during the growth of the 
struggling First Church into the well-organ- 
ized All Souls and in its preservation there 
has developed a sense of spiritual kinship 
among its followers. 

An examination of this period reveals the 
gradual disappearance from church meetings 
and councils of many who were prominent 
there at its beginning, but it also shows, in 
many instances, their places held by sons and 
daughters of the same willingness and devo- 
tion. Together with these are increasing 
numbers, drawn by the minister's presentation 
[141] 



MINISTERS OF ALL SOULS 

of a gospel so attractive and convincing as to 
enlist their enthusiastic aid in its wider dis- 
semination. Examination also shows the de- 
votion, sedulously cultivated in the interests of 
its faith, to have been equally strong for the 
preservation of the state as expressed in loy- 
alty of word and thought and deed in the nu- 
merous ways which offered during the World 
War. Numbers of its youth answered the 
call to arms, and three of these did not return : 
Jesse M. Robinson, Fred E. Smith and 
Earnest E. Weibel. The contributions of 
money by the congregation to the Young 
Men's Christian Association and to the Red 
Cross were not inconsiderable. The women 
were active in the local service of the latter 
organization. It was the happy thought of 
Miss Helen Nicolay of All Souls that the Uni- 
tarian women of the Middle States should 
raise sufficient funds for the restoration of the 
village of Fleville in France. Under her su- 
pervision, this was successfully accomplished. 
All Souls was fortunate in having in her mem- 
bership scientific men whose specialties w T ere 
such as to prove invaluable to the government 
when offered for its service in its time of need. 
An incident of the World War in which All 
Souls was entitled to take pride was the fa- 
[142] 



A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM 



mous reply of Capt. Joseph Taussig to Ad- 
miral Bayly of the British Navy. Capt. 
Taussig commanded the first division of the 
fleet of torpedo-boat destroyers sent by the 
United States to the relief of England and 
France. Immediately after the fleet's arrival 
at Queenstown, Taussig called upon the Ad- 
miral in command there, who asked "When 
will you be ready to go to sea?" Capt. 
Taussig answered, "We are ready now, sir." 
All Souls knew Taussig as one of her own in 
Sunday School and congregation during boy- 
hood and early manhood. 

Several years of this period of the church's 
history were enriched by the companionship of 
Edward Everett Hale, who, after the time of 
storm and stress which he had foreseen in his 
early days, found in Washington a resting 
place before taking leave of earthly things. 
His memory will be perpetuated in the Parish 
House which will bear his name. 

That this pastorate may reach well into the 
church's second century is the hope of all who 
have thus far shared its duties, its pleasures 
and its anxieties. 

At present, and may it long be so, All Souls 
Unitarian Church stands four-square to the 
world with "all the windows of her soul wide- 
[143] 



MINISTERS OF ALL SOULS 

open to the day" ; which is to say that she is 
ever ready to lend a hand in the world's work, 
and that she is on the watch for new truth, 
whose coming she will welcome with hospital- 
ity. Conscious of the changing order in the 
thoughts of men, she will strive more earnestly 
to justify her existence by "translating into 
life" the two commandments which may be 
called the canons of her faith, viz.: "Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy soul and with all thy mind 
and with all thy strength"; and the no less 
important one: "Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bor as thyself," for she believes that "upon 
these hang all the law and the prophets." 



[144] 



APPENDIX 



Original Members of 
The First Unitarian Church 
of Washington, D. C. 



vv liii am vv mscon ocdioii 


jln oan jc leicner 


Joseph Gales^ Sr. 


Pi chard Wallarh 


J oseph Gales^ J r. 


xtoDert i^ittie 


John Quincy Adams 


Seth Hyatt 


John C. Calhoun 


C. Andrews 


William G. Eliot 


C. Robinson 


Charles Bulfineh 


Pishey Thompson 


John F. Webb 


Thos. Bates 


C. S. Fowler 


A. B. Waller 


William C ranch 


Thos. C. Wright 


Moses Poor 


M. Claxton 


N. P. Poor 


S. Franklin 


G. F. May 


Wm. Cooper 


P. 


Mauro 



[145] 



APPENDIX 



Ministers of the Unitarian Church. 
Washington, D. C. 



Rnhprt T itflp 

llUUCl l> IjHUC 




1821 




1827 


Andrew Bigelow 




1828 










1830 




J. OUu 


1 < VAn£lT*l/l A H ATT 

x 1 reaeric x\. jc aney 




1836 


/ 


IllUIltllo 


otepnen \jt. xsumncn 




1838 






XiQWarQ ILiVcrctt. Ilalc 


Oct., 1844 




iviarcxi, ioto 


Orville Dewey 


Nov., 


1846 






Samuel Longfellow 


April, 1847 






a ObcL)ll xiciiry xxiicxi 




1847 




J. OJU 


V-/XV1XJLC X-/tWtV 


Dec, 


1851 




Tnnp 1 852 


Orville Dewey 


Dec, 


1852 




j uiy, lOOO 


Moncure D. Conway 




1854 




± ©DO 






1858 




1 8fi 1 

J. o u J. 


William H. Channing 




1861 




1865 


Rufus P. Stebbins 




1865 


6 


months 


William Sharman 




1868 




1870 


Frederic Hinckley 




1870 




1875 


Clay MacCauley 




1877 




1880 


Rush R. Shippen 




1881 




1895 


E. Bradford Leavitt 




1897 




1900 


Ulysses G. B. Pierce 




1901 







[146] 



APPENDIX 



Trustees of First Church 

1823. 

W. W. Seaton Richard Wallach 

Charles Bulfinch John Bailey- 

Committee of Management. 
Charles Bulfinch W. W. Seaton 

Benjamin Thomas Pishey Thompson 

P. Mauro Moses Poor 

George W. May 

1826. 
Trustees. 

Charles Bulfinch W. W. Seaton 

Joseph Gales, Jr. 

1829. 

Trustees. 

Charles Bulfinch W. W. Seaton 

Joseph Gales, Jr. 
Committee of Management. 
T. B. Barrel Charles S. Fowler 

William Cranch 

1835. 

Committee of Management. 
William Cranch William G. Eliot 

Joseph Gales 

1838. 

Committee of Management. 
William Cranch Pishey Thompson 

Joseph Gales W. G. Eliot 

[147] 



APPENDIX 



Trustees of All Souls Chujrch 

1877-78. 

Henry A. Willard Gen. L. H. Pelouze 

Dr. J. H. Baxter Dr. W. F. Wallace 

Dr. R. A. Bacon George B. Clark 

W. P. Dunwoody I. P. Libby 

W. C. Murdock 



1878-79. 

Wm. C. Murdock Reuben A. Bacon 

Col. Jedediah H. Baxter Henry A. Willard 
George B. Clark Wm. P. Dunwoody 

Justice Samuel F. Miller Gen. Geo. F. Cutter 
Com. Isaiah Hanscom 
W. P. Dunwoody, Secretary 
Dr. W. F. Wallace, Treasurer 



1879-80. 

Henry A. Willard George B. Clark 

Wm. P. Dunwoody Justice Samuel F. Miller 

Paymaster Gen. Geo. F. Cutter 
Com. Isaiah Hanscom W. Scott Smith 
Col. John Cassels Dr. W. F. Wallace 



1880-81. 

Justice Samuel F. Miller Gen. Geo. F. Cutter 
Hon. Wm. E. Chandler Col. John Cassels 
W. Scott Smith Dr. W. F. Wallace 

Henry A. Willard Col. J. H. Baxter 

W. C. Murdock 
[148] 



APPENDIX 



1881- 82. 

W. Scott Smith, Chairman 
John Cassels Dr. W. F. Wallace 

Col. J. H. Baxter H. A. Willard 

W. C. Murdock Hon. W. A. Richardson 

Geo. E. Baker W. P. Dunwoody 

J. B. T. Tupper, Secretary 
H. B. Bennett, Treasurer 

1882- 83. 

W. P. Dunwoody, Chairman 
Col. J. H. Baxter H. A. Willard 

W. C. Murdock Hon. W. A. Richardson 

Geo. E. Baker Hon. Wm. E. Chandler 

Dr. Geo. N. French O. R. Merrill 

B. R. Green, Secretary 
Geo. A. King, Treasurer 

1883- 84. 

Geo. E. Baker, Chairman 
Hon. W. A. Richardson W. P. Dunwoody 
Hon. W. E. Chandler Dr. Geo. N. French 
O. R. Merrill Justice S. F. Miller 

S. R. Bond Bernard R. Green 

Wm. J. Canby, Secretary 
Geo. A. King, Treasurer 

1884- 85. 
Bernard R. Green, Chairman 

Hon. Wm. E. Chandler Dr. Geo. N. French 
O. R. Merrill Justice S. F. Miller 

S. R. Bond Hon. Dorman B. Eaton 

Dr. John Edwin Mason H. B. Bennett 
[149] 



APPENDIX 



1885- 86. 
Bernard R. Green, Chairman 

Justice S. F. Miller S. R. Bond 

Hon. Dorman B. Eaton Dr. John Edwin Mason 
H. B. Bennett Wm. P. Dunwoody 

Maj. S. Willard Saxton Prof. Edward A. Fay 

1886- 87. 

Geo. A. King, Chairman 
Dr. T. H. Sherwood Dr. John Edwin Mason 

H. B. Bennett Wm. P. Dunwoody 

Maj. S. Willard Saxton Prof. Edward A. Fay 
John R. Gisburne Wm. A. Richardson 

Wm. J. Canby, Secretary 
Chas. W. Hills, Treasurer 

1887- 88. 

Geo. A. King, Chairman 
Prof. Edward A. Fay Robt. S. Fletcher 
William Hutchinson Wm. A. Richardson 

John R. Gisburne James B. T. Tupper 

William Brough Harvey Spalding 

Wm. J. Canby, Secretary 
Dr. Geo. N. French, Treasurer 

1888- 89. 

Geo. A. King, Chairman 
James B. T. Tupper Wm. A. Richardson 

William Brough John R. Gisburne 

Edward C. Seward Harvey Spalding 

Samuel R. Bond Bernard R. Green 

1889- 90. 

Samuel R. Bond, Chairman 
James B. T. Tupper William Brough 

[150] 



APPENDIX 



Harvey Spalding Edward C. Seward 

Bernard R. Green Charles W. Hills 

Gen. A. W. Greely Prof. Edward A. Fay 

1890- 91. 

Samuel R. Bond, Chairman 
Bernard R. Green Maj. S. Willard Saxton 

Charles W. Hills Gen. A. W. Greely 

Prof. Edward A. Fay Myron M. Parker 
William Hutchinson Hon. Carroll D. Wright 

Dr. Thos. H. Sherwood, Secretary 
Dr. Geo. N. French, Treasurer 

1891- 92. 

Henry F. Blount, Chairman 
Geo. A. King Hon. Wm. A. Richardson 

Myron M. Parker Wm. Hutchinson 

Hon. Carroll D. Wright Charles W. Hills 
Prof. Edward A. Fay Gen. A. W. Greely 

1892- 93. 

Hon. Carroll D. Wright, Chairman 
William Hutchinson Myron M. Parker 

Henry F. Blount Geo. A. King 

Samuel R. Bond Wm. A. Richardson 

Dr. A. B. Jameson Bernard R. Green 

1893- 94. 
Samuel R. Bond, Chairman 

Henry F. Blount Geo. A. King 

Wm. A. Richardson Bernard R. Green 

Dr. A. B. Jameson George A. Bacon 

Nathan Bickford Gen. C. H. Smith 

[151] 



APPENDIX 



Samuel R. Bond 
J. B. T. Tupper 
George A. Bacon 
Gen. Rufus Saxton 



1894-95. 
Bernard R. Green, Chairman 

Dr. A. B. Jameson 
Prof. Wm. B. Powell 
Gen. C. H. Smith 
George Doolittle 
Wm. Cyril Keech, Secretary 
Dr. Geo. N. French, Treasurer 



1895- 96. 

Hon. Carroll D. Wright, Chairman 
Mrs. M. H. Doolittle Henry F. Blount 

Prof. Edward A. Fay Mrs. Blanche Woodward 
George Doolittle George A. Bacon 

Gen. C. H. Smith Gen. Rufus Saxton 

1896- 97. 

Hon. Carroll D. Wright, Chairman 
Mrs. M. H. Doolittle Henry F. Blount 
Prof. Edward A. Fay Mrs. Thomas M. Gale 
George Doolittle James F. Hood 

Henry K. Willard Bernard R. Green 

1897- 98. 

Hon. Carroll D. Wright, Chairman 
Mrs. M. H. Doolittle Henry F. Blount 
James F. Hood Henry K. Willard 

Bernard R. Green Geo. A. King 

Mrs. J. G. Walker Mrs. Thos. E. Hatch 



1898-99. 
Bernard R. Green, Chairman 
James F. Hood Henry K. Willard 

[152] 



APPENDIX 



Geo. A. King 

Mrs. Thos. E. Hatch 

Gen. Chas. H. Smith 



Mrs. J. G. Walker 
Mrs. Lucia E. Blount 
James A. Sample 



Geo. 

Mrs. J. G. Walker 
Wm. P. Robinson 
Jas. A. Sample 
Prof. Wm. H. Dall 



1899-1900. 

A. King, Chairman 

Mrs. Thos. E. Hatch 
Mrs. Lucia E. Blount 
Prof. Edward A. Fay- 
Prof. F. W. Clarke 



1900-01. 
Bernard R. Green, Chairman 
Mrs. Thos. M. Gale Mrs. Mary H. White 

Prof. Edward A. Fay Prof. F. W. Clarke 
Prof. Wm. H. Dall Wm. P. Robinson 

Mrs. Lucia E. Blount James A. Sample 



1901-02. 
Bernard R. Green, Chairman 
Mrs. Thos. M. Gale Mrs. Mary H. White 

Prof. Edward A. Fay Prof. F. W. Clarke 
Prof. Wm. H. Dall Mrs. Jennie W. Scudder 

Dr. Henry A. Stokes Geo. A. King 



1902-03. 
Bernard R. Green, Chairman 
Mrs. Thos. M. Gale Mrs. Mary H. White 

Mrs. Jennie W. Scudder Dr. Henry A. Stokes 
Geo. A. King Henry F. Blount 

J. B. T. Tupper E. B. Eynon, Sr. 

[153] 



APPENDIX 



1903- 04. 

Geo. A. King, Chairman 
Mrs. Jennie W. Scudder Dr. Henry A. Stokes 
James A. Sample Henry F. Blount 

J. B. T. Tupper E. B. Eynon, Sr. 

Charles W. Hills Mrs. John G. Walker 

George A. Bacon, Secretary 
Dr. Geo. N. French, Treasurer 

1904- 05. 

James A. Sample, Chairman 
Henry F. Blount J. B. T. Tupper 

Edward B. Eynon, Sr. Charles W. HiUs 
Mrs. John G. Walker James F. Hood 

Chauncey C. Williams Dr. Isaac S. Stone 
William H. Lemon, Secretary 
Dr. Geo. N. French, Treasurer 

1905- 06. 

James A. Sample, Chairman, 
Charles W. Hills Mrs. John G. Walker 

James F. Hood Chauncey C. Williams 

Dr. Isaac S. Stone Mrs. Thos. M. Gale 

William B. Todd Maxwell V. Woodhull 

1906- 07. 
Bernard R. Green, Chairman 

James F. Hood Chauncey C. Williams 

Dr. Isaac S. Stone Mrs. Thos. M. Gale 

William B. Todd Maxwell V. Woodhull 

Robert S. Woodward Dr. Truman Abbe 

1907- 08. 

Gen. Maxwell V. Woodhull, Chairman 
Mrs. Thos. M. Gale William B. Todd 

[154] 



APPENDIX 



Bernard R. Green Dr. Robert S. Woodward 

Dr. Truman Abbe Mrs. Thos. M. Woodruff 

George N. Brown Delbert H. Decker 

Archibald King, Secretary 
Charles E. Hood, Treasurer 

1908- 09. 
Bernard R. Green, Chairman 

Dr. Robert S. Woodward Dr. Truman Abbe 

Mrs. Thos. M. Woodruff George N. Brown 

Delbert H. Decker Mrs. Henry F. Blount 

William H. Lemon John Mason Boutwell 

1909- 10. 

James A. Sample, Chairman 
Mrs. Thos. M. Woodruff George N. Brown 
Delbert H. Decker Mrs. Henry F. Blount 

William H. Lemon John Mason Boutwell 

James F. Hood Louis A. Simon 

1910-11. 
James A. Sample, Chairman 
Mrs. Henry F. Blount William H. Lemon 
John Mason Boutwell James F. Hood 
Louis A. Simon Mrs. Thos. M. Gale 

Hon. Duncan U. Fletcher William J. Eynon 



1911-12. 
James A. Sample, Chairman 
James F. Hood Louis A. Simon 

Mrs. Thos. M. Gale Hon. Duncan U. Fletcher 

Mrs. Whitman Cross Mrs. Thos. M. Woodruff 

Louis H. Stabler Gen. Maxwell V. Woodhull 



[155] 



APPENDIX 



1912- 13. 

Hon. Duncan U. Fletcher, Chairman 
Mrs. Thos. M. Gale Mrs. Whitman Cross 

Mrs. Thos. M. Woodruff Louis H. Stabler 
Gen. Maxwell V. Woodhull Hon. Martin A. Knapp 
Daniel Douty Dr. James M. Flint 

1913- 14. 

Hon. Martin A. Knapp, Chairman 
Gen. Maxwell V. Woodhull Louis H. Stabler 
Dr. James M. Flint Miss Edith Totten 

Mrs. Frederic A. Holton Hon. Myron M. Parker 
Louis A. Simon Mrs. F. W. Clarke 

1914- 15. 

Hon. Martin A. Knapp, Chairman 
Dr. James M. Flint Hon. Myron M. Parker 

Mrs. Frederic A. Holton Louis A. Simon 
Mrs. Frank W. Clarke Herndon Morsell 
Edward B. Eynon, Sr. Archibald King 
S. Jay Teller, Secretary 
Charles E. Hood, Treasurer 

1915- 16. 

Louis A. Simon, Chairman 
Mrs. Frederic A. Holton Mrs. Frank W. Clarke 
Herndon Morsell Edward B. Eynon, Sr. 

Archibald King Mrs. Whitman Cross 

H. Barrett Learned John C. Scofield 

1916- 17. 

H. Barrett Learned, Chairman 
Edward B. Eynon, Sr. Archibald King 
Herndon Morsell Mrs. Whitman Cross 

[156] 



APPENDIX 



John C. Scofield Julius Garfinkle 

Frank S. Hight Mrs. Caleb S. Miller 

1917- 18. 

H. Barrett Learned, Chairman 
Mrs. Whitman Cross John C. Scofield 

Julius Garfinkle Frank S. Hight 

Mrs. Caleb S. Miller Nathaniel Hershler 
William F. Roberts Mrs. Thos. M. Woodruff 

1918- 19. 
William F. Roberts, Chairman 

Mrs. Caleb S. Miller Nathaniel Hershler 
F. S. Hight Julius Garfinkle 

Mrs. Joseph Stewart William L. Brown 

Mrs. Thos. M. Woodruff James C. Robertson 
Louis A. Simon, vice W. F. Roberts, resigned 

1919- 20. 

Louis A. Simon, Chairman 
Mrs. Joseph Stewart William L. Brown 

Julius Garfinkle Geo. A. Ricker 

Mrs. Duncan U. Fletcher Mrs. Thos. M. Woodruff 
James C. Robertson Charles E. Hood 

Mrs. C. C. Williams, vice Mrs. Woodruff, resigned. 
Major Leonard S. Doten, vice Mrs. Williams, resigned. 
Martin M. Kallman, vice Mrs. Fletcher, resigned. 
Major Archibald King, vice James C. Robertson, re- 
signed. 

1920- 21. 
George A. Ricker, Chairman 

William L. Brown Dr. Julia M. Green 

Charles E, Hood Hon. Martin A. Knapp 

[157] 



APPENDIX 

Jessie B. Stewart Col. M. M. Parker 

M. M. Kallman Capt. Leonard S. Doten, 

Archibald King, vice M. M. Kallman 

1921- 22. 
George A. Ricker, Chairman 

Capt. Leonard S. Doten Dr. Julia M. Green 

Charles E. Hood Dr. Percival Hall 

J. E. Jones Martin A. Knapp 

Miss Helen Nicolay Col. M. M. Parker 

1922- 23. 

Dr. Percival Hall, Chairman 
Julius Garfinkle Herndon Morsell 

Dr. Julia M. Green Miss Catherine A. Newton 

J. E. Jones Miss Helen Nicolay 

Martin A. Knapp Laurence C. Staples 

Elmer Stewart, Treasurer 

Charles B. Bryant, Secretary 



[158] 



APPENDIX 



Building Notes 



The trustees of the church when All Souls was built 
at Fourteenth and L Streets, in 1877, were: 

Henry A. Willard, Chairman 



The Building Committee consisted of Henry A. Wil- 
lard, George B. Clark and Isaiah Hanscom. The archi- 
tect was R. G. Russell, of New Haven, Connecticut. 
The church was built on the model of a church in New 
Haven, designed by Mr. Russell. The builder of All 
Souls Church was Col. Robert I. Fleming, of Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

The committee from the church in charge of erection 
of the industrial building at 14th and L Streets in 1920 
consisted of George A. Ricker, Chairman of the Board 
of Trustees, John C. Scofield and Charles E. Hood. 

The contractors were the Boyle-Robertson Construc- 
tion Company of Washington, D. C. The building was 
completed and formally opened on January 18, 1921, 
and in July, 1922, it was sold for $350,000. 

Ground was broken for the new All Souls Church and 
Edward Everett Hale Memorial Parish House at Six- 
teenth and Harvard Streets, September 8, 1921. The 
Building Committee at that time consisted of George A. 
Ricker, Chairman; Dr. Percival Hall and Captain Leon- 
ard S. Doten, members of the Board of Trustees; and 



Gen. L. H. Pelouze 
Dr. W. F. Wallace 
George B. Clark 
W. C. Murdock 



Dr. J. H. Baxter 
Dr. R. A. Bacon 
W. P. Dunwoody 
I. P. Libby 



[159] 



APPENDIX 

Advisory Members from the congregation as follows: 
William L. Brown, Julius Garfinkle, Mrs. F. A. Holton, 
Mrs. Richard Fay Jackson, Mrs. H. Barrett Learned, 
John C. Scofield, W. B. Todd, Dr. U. G. B. Pierce, ex- 
officio. This Committee adopted the plan of a limited 
competition for the selection of the architects. 

The Building Committee, named in the spring of 
1922, consisted of Dr. Percival Hall, Chairman; Julius 
Garfinkle and Dr. Julia Green, members of the Board 
of Trustees; George A. Ricker and Captain Leonard 
S. Doten. 
Architects : 

Coolidge & Shattuck, Ames Building, Boston 
Frederick E. Marcus, Clerk of Work 
Builders : 

The Boyle-Robertson Construction Co., Washing- 
ton, D. C. 
W. S. Morgan, Superintendent. 



[160] 



APPENDIX 



Bequests 

Several bequests have been made to the church. The 
first noted is that of $1,000 by Mr. John Hitz for the 
provision of suitable music. 

In 1892, Dr. Jayne left his library to All Souls. 
Some of it was absorbed in the church library, and the 
remainder otherwise disposed of. 

In 1893, the sum of $500 was received from the 
estate of Dr. J. Edwin Mason. 

In 1897, a bequest of $1742 was received from James 
Brackett through the American Unitarian Association. 

By his will dated in 1892, Capt. Frank E. Brownell 
made All Souls Church residuary legatee. In 1916, the 
sum of $4,897.97 was received from this source, its in- 
come to be used for the charities of the church, and in 
May, 1922, an additional sum of $4,800.72 became avail- 
able. 

In 1915, Mrs. Fannie S. Reynolds bequeathed to the 
church $864.42. This was made up to $1,000 by the 
trustees and invested as The Fannie S. Reynolds Fund. 

In 1918, Mr. Zebina Moses left to the church $5,000, 
the income of which was to be used "to aid the Church 
in maintaining a high grade of music." 

Mrs. Florence Tryon Baxter, who died in 1914, made 
All Souls Church residuary legatee. After a few years, 
the sum of $40,183 came into the possession of the trus- 
tees, "to be invested and re-invested in perpetuity" by 
them, the income to constitute a fund to be devoted an- 
nually to charitable work connected with All Souls 
Church. 

[161] 



APPENDIX 

In 1920, Miss Ellen Marian Elizabeth Woodhull left 
$4,000 to All Souls as an Endowment Fund for the pur- 
pose of the upkeep of the church. 

In addition to the "Woodhull Fund" indicated above, 
All Souls Church is to receive the income from an ad- 
ditional Fund provided in the will of Miss E. M. E. 
Woodhull, and when this is available it will furnish 
approximately $5,000 a year revenue to the Church, 
a considerable portion of which may be used for general 
purposes when the new Church building is occupied. 

In October, 1921, the church received a bequest of 
$800 for charities, from Mrs. Sarah E. Stevens. In 
addition, Mrs. Stevens left a sum now amounting to 
$175 for "some separate picture or equipment for the 
new Church." 



[162] 



APPENDIX 



Memorial Windows 

1881 

Window presented to All Souls Church by Hon. W. A. 
Richardson in memory of his wife, Anna M. Rich- 
ardson. 

1882 

Window presented by Francis Ormond French in 
memory of his mother, Elizabeth Richardson 
French. 



1883 

Window presented by Mrs. John Cassels in memory of 
her father and mother, Arthur W. Fletcher and 
Elizabeth J. Fletcher. 



1886 

Window presented by Hon. Wm. B. Webb and Miss 
Charlotte E. Webb, in memory of their parents, 
John F. Webb and Charlotte Ann Webb. 

1887 

Window presented by George P. Baker in memory of 
his father, George E. Baker. 



1893 

Window presented by Mary Bellows Gardner in mem- 
ory of her brother, Dr. Augustus Kinsley Gardner. 
[163] 



APPENDIX 

1897 

Window presented by Arthur Fletcher, Margaret Gib- 
son, Elsie and James Donald Cassels, in memory of 
Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Fowler. 

1897 

Window given by Albertine L. Houston in memory of 
her husband, James D. Houston. 

1900 

Window presented by Maxwell Van Zandt Woodhull, 
Miss Ellen M. Woodhull and Charles Woodhull in 
memory of their mother, Mrs. Helen Frances Wood- 
hull. 

1910 

Two windows presented by Henry K. Willard in 
memory of parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry A. 
Willard. 

Tablets 

John Purdy 
General L. H. Pelouze 
Commander Isaiah Hanscom 
William C. Murdock 

Reuben Bacon 
Susan Dorr Willard 
Zoe Rodman Shippen 
William A. Widney 



[164] 



